The Philadelphia Phillies, currently sitting in second place in the National League East despite being two games under .500, could be welcoming second baseman Chase Utley and catcher Carlos Ruiz back into the fold soon, according to reports.
Utley, who strained his oblique four weeks ago, was seen taking swings at the end of Phillies batting practice last night, and has designs of beginning a set of rehab games tonight. He did caution eager Phillies fans, however, that there's still no timetable for his comeback and it will depend on how his body responds to game action.
"I don't want to rush back," Utley said. "I want to make sure I don't reinjure it. I have to play it smart." Despite the careful tone, Utley seems eager to rejoin the big league club. "I feel more comfortable doing it [now]," Utley said. "When I started swinging, I was obviously a little apprehensive, but it's worn off."
Before injuring his oblique, Utley was having a bounce back year for Philadelphia, hitting .272 with seven home runs and 25 RBI in 44 games. In the two previous, injury-riddled seasons, Utley hit just 11 home runs each year and failed to crack .260 in terms of batting average.
Ruiz, who strained his hamstring on May 19th, played in a rehab game on Saturday and experienced no setbacks.
"Chooch did very well. We may move his timetable up a little bit, we may not," Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro said. "We'll talk to him again after today's workout and see how he's feeling. There's a possibility we can be a little quicker on him. He's doing well."
Ruiz, an All-Star in 2012, was not having the same type of impact year that Utley was in the midst of, batting .241 with no home runs and just two RBI in 17 games.
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