Could Sox' Quentin be back for playoffs?
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - If the White Sox start pulling it together and make a deep run in the playoffs, Carlos Quentin might be heard from again.
If they don't, the injured left fielder isn't likely to resume playing baseball until spring training.
Quentin, sidelined since Sept. 1 with a fractured right wrist, rejoined the Sox at Kauffman Stadium on Friday and took "some very light swings" with a "real light stick."
Considering he's missed 16 games and is still recovering from Sept. 8 surgery, there seems to be no chance Quentin is going to be return to the field before the end of the regular season.
"My goal is to get back as soon as possible," Quentin said. "I would be extremely happy to make it back for the playoffs, given that opportunity. We are not going to put a time frame on it. We are going to push as much as we can and just use what we have today and tomorrow as building blocks to get me back where I can perform and have my health not questioned as far as reinjuring it."
Quentin has a screw in his wrist, which is noticeably swollen, and the soft cast he had been wearing was removed Wednesday.
"It felt tight," Quentin said of Friday's workout. "It felt like it had been in a soft cast and immobilized for a week. As far as pain, it's minimal I think. That's good for right now. There will be some pain I assume involved when I get some range of motion back.
"But when the doctor looked at it, he looked at the X-rays and liked what he saw. The pins and the wire in there make it very stable, very strong, so he was very happy with that."
Assuming the Sox get there, manager Ozzie Guillen would love having Quentin back in the postseason.
"I don't believe in miracles, but it could happen," Guillen said. "You never know. There's still some sensitivity. I don't see some good swings on the ball right now. I don't see him doing what he can do. Carlos coming in would be awesome, but I don't see him healing quick after they take the pins out. I hope he does, but you never know."