AKRON, Ohio — At the end of last season, Cleveland Guardians utility man David Fry underwent ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) reconstruction surgery after feeling discomfort in his elbow towards the end of the year. He had the surgery at the end of October, following the Guards' trip to the American League Division Series in the playoffs, given a timetable of 6-8 months to return to play.
Since then, Fry has been working his way back, and after making three rehab assignments in Arizona, he took his first rehab assignment with the Double-A Akron RubberDucks on Tuesday morning.
"It was like 3-4 months of a whole lot of nothing, a lot of training room stuff and then it was kind of off the tee, front toss, BP, probably about a month ago I was able to hit off a machine and then get some lives against those guys in Arizona," Fry said.
In a designated hitter role with Akron on Tuesday, Fry had three at-bats, notching a single and an RBI. He said it felt great to be back in game action.
"Feeling really good. Nice to kind of get back into live game situations. A lot of cage work and stuff before this, so nice to just get out and play a game with the boys," Fry said. "I was telling the boys I needed the ball in my first hit as an Akron RubberDuck."
Tuesday was Education Day, with thousands of local students from districts around Northeast Ohio at the game. That made the energy for Fry even more palpable.
"It's fantastic," said fan Riley Smith. "I've really missed watching him up in Cleveland, so to see him back on the field this year, it's very good to see."
Fry felt the excitement from the fans and is just as eager to keep going through his rehab as he eyes an eventual return to the Guardians. But for now, he's taking it one day at a time and enjoying milestones in the minors.
"I know I'm here this week, I think every other day, but after that, with the rehab process, it's so cliche, but it really is just one day at a time," Fry said. "You just do what you're told. Whenever they tell me, 'Hey, go to Cleveland,' I'll be fired up, but just kind of go where they tell me."
