Before Monday's game against the Marlins, the outfielder admitted that his legs were feeling sore. But when he chased Emilio Bonifacio's double in the first inning, Sweeney experienced a much sharper pain.
"I ran after it and felt it kind of spasm a little bit," Sweeney said. "Then it was tight and when I was up to bat, I did that check swing and fouled the ball back and I felt it twinge then too. So I was like, 'I might not be able to run very good right' and I told them, 'If I get on base, I don't want to steal.' Then it got worse. Then when I came in they were like, 'You’re done.'"
The 27-year-old has been shut down ever since the game. A candidate to start the year in right field, Sweeney intends to resume hitting Friday, but doesn't have a plan to start running quite yet.
"It feels better today than it did yesterday, so it's one of those day-by-day [situations]," Sweeney said. "Nobody wants to be hurt, but it's one of those things where I don't want to push it because I'd rather it be right now, then during the season. I just need it to be to the point where I can run and get it back to normal."
If all goes according to plan for Sweeney, he’s targeting a return "in the next three, four or five days, hopefully."
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