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Houston Astros General Manager Dana Brown gave some insight on the potential return of injured outfielder Michael Brantley when he spoke on SportsTalk 790 AM on Sunday afternoon.

Brown also shed some light on Brantley’s progress, which he called a positive sign.

"The fact that he’s [throwing and catching], those are positive signs,” Brown said. “The fact that he’s hitting with no discomfort, no pain or anything like that, that’s exciting."

Brantley has been out since June of last season with a shoulder injury that has kept his sidelined since that time.

He was progressing towards a return in May and even played a handful of rehab games with Triple-A Sugar Land before a setback put his timetable for return up in the air.

Brantley began hitting in the batting cage along with some light throwing and running on June 8 in Toronto, as the veteran outfielder is hoping for a return to the club sometime this season.

Brown is hopeful that Brantley can begin another rehab assignment in the near future, although a date has yet to be set by the team.

“Brantley has [an] outstanding makeup, good teammate, all of that good stuff," Brown said. "To add to it, the bat could be pretty special. Getting him back and adding to our lineup would be a big boost."

The Astros could definitely use a boost to their offense, as Houston (37-29) currently sits 4.5 games behind the first-place Texas Rangers (41-24) in the American League West.

Hopefully, for both Houston fans and brass alike, Brantley will be back sooner than later.


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