Pirates' Ryan O'Hearn Takes Next Step in Injury Rehab
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates haven't had Ryan O'Hearn in their lineup for quite some time, but he's working back from his most recent injury.
O'Hearn will move down to Florida for his next step in his injury rehab, per Pirates senior director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk.
He will specifically head down to Bradenton, where the Pirates spring training facility is, where he'll spend the remainder of his time working back from his right quad muscle injury.
O'Hearn is aiming for a return by season's end and this is a good sign he should be able to do that, still on the eight-week timeline to full game play.
What This Means for O'Hearn's Injury Return
The Pirates slugger went on the 10-day injured list with that right quad muscle injury back on Aug. 1, which could technically make him available now, but he's got a much longer timeline.
O'Hearn suffered the injury trying to beat out a ground ball in the ninth inning of the 8-7 loss to the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on July 31, with him coming up in pain before he got to first base, needing help coming off the field.
He has made progress over the past three weeks, resuming light baseball activities, which includes some fielding like playing catch and taking swings in the batting cage.
O'Hearn participated in batting practice this most recent series with the Pirates and got to hang out with his teammates for the last time before heading down to Florida.
The Pirates will head out on the road for nine games over 10 days and three series from Aug. 21-Aug. 31, which includes the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, San Diego Padres at Petco Park and St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
O'Hearn heading down to Florida allows him to fully focus on recovery and also gives him better facilities to do so, without the distractions of games and travel.
O'Hearn Weighs in on Injury Rehab Process
It's been a tough year for O'Hearn with injuries, as he also missed two weeks with a right quad muscle strain from May 17-31, and is up to five weeks missed for the Pirates.
O'Hearn signed a two-year, $29 million contract with the Pirates as a free agent this offseason and was one of their best hitters, batting .270/.334/.454 for an OPS of .788 in 96 games, with 97 hits, 15 doubles, 17 home runs and 69 RBI.
O'Hearn won't be alone in Bradenton, which is about 50 miles south of his hometown of Dunedin, as Pirates rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin is there on his injury rehab as well.
The goal for O'Hearn is to return as quickly as he can, doing the work he needs to and improving upon it, as he will try and help the Pirates in their quest for a postseason place, if they're still in it when he comes back in late September.
"I think motivation is to get back out on the field with the guys, obviously," O'Hearn said to SportsNet Pittsburgh. "Yeah, I think the biggest part's going to be sprinting, getting back to be able to run. Just gonna stay locked in and fine-tune on my swing and work on whatever I can, as much as possible and then continue to push it and let it heal and then push it and let it heal and get back and try to get back on the field as soon as possible."
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Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.