LAS VEGAS â€" Stuck at another pause in a career filled with stops and starts, Travis Snider is making sure to remain patient.
The Toronto Blue Jays outfield prospect hit in the cage Monday morning before the triple-A Las Vegas 51s took on the Salt Lake Bees at Cashman Field, and reported some progress in his jammed right wrist afterwards.
The plan is for him to take batting practice again before Tuesday’s series opener at Oklahoma City, and reassess where he’s at.
While he’s rushing to get back, Snider is willing to take his time, too.
"It’s doing good, it’s progressing," Snider said of the wrist he injured April 26 while trying to make a diving catch. "We’re being patient, not trying to go out and take 100 swings, make sure the swing is absolutely perfect. It’s really been a matter of building up swings in the cage.
"If everything goes well, (Tuesday will) allow them to make a decision of when they think I’m game ready. I wouldn’t say Tuesday, but hopefully at some point this week."
Snider is eager to pick up where he left off before his injury, when he was batting .400/.477/.693 with 10 doubles, four homers and 23 RBIs in 19 games.
Equally impressive is his 1:1 walk to strikeout ratio (11-11), suggesting an improvement in his approach and pitch recognition.
Yet the 24-year-old understands well the need to take his time with a wrist injury. His 2011 season ended early because of tendinitis in the same right wrist, which he also injured in 2010.
"A wrist injury as a hitter is probably the worst, if not one of the worst, injuries that you can possibly have," said Snider. "Exercising patience is key for any injury, but especially with the wrist. I could probably go back out there and grind it out but who’s to say that after three or four days that things might not flare up? That’s why we’re taking a cautious approach as to how many swings I’m taking.
"It’s really listening to my body, and understanding that it’s a couple of extra days now than a couple extra weeks down the road because we didn’t take long enough."
The new damage is in a different spot than then where the tendinitis was last season, and Snider feels his regimen of wrist and forearm exercises are keeping the area strong. He described his current injury as "one of those freak things," his glove getting caught under his arm and popping off on "an awkward in-between dive."
"You play the game aggressively, situations dictate the intensity of the game," he said. "Maybe it was one of those situations where I could have taken a step back and caught the ball on one hop, but that’s something as a young guy I’m still learning; situations to sacrifice your body and when to be smart."
Still, he’s being smart about his current standing as a whole, from not rushing a delicate injury to not overthinking his path back to the Blue Jays.
Overtaken last year by Eric Thames, Snider is doing his best to not worry about when or how he returns to the big-leagues, instead focusing alone on what he must do to be successful and allow his play to dictate his path back.
"The main focus for me was on my approach (at the plate)," Snider said. "I felt good about the mechanical adjustments I made last year coming into spring training. As I got more at-bats I kind of went full circle from starting off hot to kind of cooling off a little bit and striking out more than I wanted to, then coming here was a chance to reset and refocus the mindset when I’m stepping into the box."
Vegas hitting coach Chad Mottola has been instrumental on that front.
The two developed a strong rapport last season when Snider was optioned down following a poor month with the Blue Jays, helping him institute a number of changes.
Among them was moving the starting point for his hands from shoulder height down near his waist and shortening his swing by eliminating the coil created by his previous starting point.
"When I step in there I know what I’m trying to accomplish and when I’m off, he can pick it apart pretty quickly," Snider said of Mottola. "We’ve been able to maintain the mechanics for the past three months since spring training started. The thing I was happiest about was just … being in situations where the pitcher isn’t going to give in, especially at this level when you’ve had success and they know your track record, they’re going to pitch you differently.
"I felt like I paid attention to different counts where they’re mixing in chase pitches as well as nibbling for strikes, and really staying within my approach of looking for a pitch to drive, and understanding what their out pitch is, and trying to simplify it in that sense."
It’s an approach he’s applying across the board.
Perhaps this is the one that clicks for him.
Shi Davidi is the MLB Insider for sportsnet.ca. Come back to read his insight and opinion regularly.
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