March 6 (1:30 p.m. MT) update: Dahl has been diagnosed with a stress reaction to the sixth rib, the Rockies announced. He will be reevaluated in two weeks. The fact that this is not a true back injury and is not muscle related could be a boon for Dahl’s future health.
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Colorado Rockies outfielder David Dahl should return to baseball activities before the end of spring training and may even see in-game action before Opening Day, according to a report by Patrick Saunders.
The latest news should be considered good after the last update had people worried that he might not participate at all for the rest of spring training. Dahl has missed most of the Rockies’ Cactus League slate after being a late scratch on Feb. 27. Expected to miss only a few games at first, Dahl sat out the remainder of last week’s games before Bud Black revealed Friday that the lefty-swinging, 22-year-old could miss a considerable amount of time.
Dahl is expected to see a doctor on Monday with the hope that the injury can be diagnosed in more detail, Saunders adds.
Depending on when Dahl does return, he might not have enough time to get fully up to speed before Opening Day. If he doesn’t, the the Rockies do have plenty of other options to play in left field.