Good News on Manny Machado

Third basemen Manny Machado #13 of the Baltimore Orioles puts his sunglasses on after a brief rain fell during the game against the San Diego Padres at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on May 15, 2013 in Baltimore, Maryland. The San Diego Padres won, 8-4.

It looks like Manny Machado is inching close and closer to returning to game action on the field…

From ESPN.com: All the physical restrictions related to Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado's reconstructive knee surgery have been lifted by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, whom Machado visited Thursday in Los Angeles for a follow-up evaluation.

However, the Orioles' All-Star infielder will continue to rehabilitate the mild calf and hamstring strains that have been troubling him since last week.

ElAttrache, the Dodgers' orthopedic surgeon, performed the surgery to reconstruct Machado's torn medial patellofemoral ligament in his left knee in October and has since been monitoring his progress closely. Since his last visit to ElAttrache in late January, Machado has been increasing his baseball-related activities to include hitting, fielding and baserunning.

Based on his progress, Machado has been granted permission to proceed to the final phase of rehabilitation, which includes building up his conditioning and performance to the point of playing in games.

"He looks better every time I see him," ElAttrache said. "His kneecap is tracking normally, his muscle girth is almost the same as his opposite leg and his level of function exceeds where we thought he'd be at this point."

-snip-

"The news couldn't have been any better today," Machado said. "I'm excited. I'm just that much closer to being out on the field."

However, according to Buck Showalter, there’s still no timetable as to when we’ll see Machado back on the field. Plus, he was not happy with ESPN’s report.

The bottom line is this: Machado is extremely vital to the future of the Orioles franchise in the years to come.

Whether he is healthy or not, I cannot see the Orioles even rushing him back into action until they deem fit.

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