Texas Rangers News: Josh Hamilton May Return From Injury Before All-Star Break

OK, let’s all take a deep breath. Josh Hamilton could return from injury sooner than expected.

The Texas Rangers slugger has made significant progress in his rehab after having abdominal surgery earlier this month.

Originally, Hamilton was expected to return either at or after the All-Star break. Now he is hoping to see his name in the starting lineup when the Rangers host the Tampa Bay Rays on July 3.

“I’m way ahead of schedule,” Hamilton said. “That’s a reasonable goal to have. I don’t want to do anything that will set me back and keep me out longer, but if I don’t set goals, I won’t work as hard to reach those goals.”

Although Hamilton’s hopes are for July 3, Rangers' manager Ron Washington might want to give Hamilton more games in a rehab assignment to discover his timing at the plate.

A realistic expectation of Hamilton’s return would be a few days later when the Rangers begin a west-coast swing against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Seattle Mariners leading up to the All-Star break.

Hamilton has been given the green light to participate in the All-Star game if healthy, but would likely not enter the Home Run Derby.

“I’ve talked to [general manager Jon Daniels] about it,” said Hamilton.  “And they said if I was voted into the All-Star game, they would be more than happy for me to play. That was good. I didn’t know how they would feel about it.”

“There’s a reasonable chance Josh returns before the All-Star break,” Daniels said on Thursday. ”I know he’d like to participate in the All-Star Game if elected, and the club would support him if he’s back healthy.”

Hamilton has resumed batting practice and is running at 100 percent.

If Hamilton doesn’t experience any setbacks, he could go on a medical rehab assignment early next week and be ready by the end of the week.

“I want to be back by the middle of this coming week,” Hamilton said. “I did a lot of drills today—cutting and twisting, changing directions—and there were not any problems.”

Hamilton is hitting .240 this season with just six home runs and 24 runs batted in. Although Hamilton’s production is down compared to last year, his mere presence in the Rangers’ lineup has been noticed. Prior to last night’s 9-8 win over Arizona, the Rangers produced only seven runs in their previous five games.