Angel Pagan Starts Rehab Assignment Tomorrow In Arizona

Angel Pagan will begin his rehab assignment tomorrow, scheduled to play three innings, with the rookie league AZL Giants in Arizona. If all goes well, Pagan is likely to play a bit more in San Jose or Fresno before joining the Giants (fingers crossed) on September 1 when MLB rosters expand to 40 players.

The Giants have not been the same team since Pagan has been out. He’s the spark plug that the Giants are missing in the top of the lineup. Pagan last played for the Giants on May 25, when he strained his left hamstring after his walk-off inside-the-park home run. On June 7, The Giants placed him on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to May 28.

On June 20, Pagan joined the San Jose Giants in Stockton for a rehab assignment but was unable to run out a grounder in the 9th inning. He limped to first base before collapsing to the ground. He was carted off the field shortly afterwards.

"“It felt worse,” Pagan said. “It was a really hard pop I felt in my leg. I went down because of the frustration. I worked pretty hard and I had a lot of faith that the last few options that I did were going to help. And I was very optimistic that I was going to be back in the lineup and it happened. I was pretty frustrated. But things happen, you can’t control what’s going to happen.”"

Pagan had an MRI that revealed a small tear in his left hamstring tendon. He met with Giants team orthopedist Dr. Ken Akizuki the next evening who recommended surgery. Pagan sought out a second opinion then quickly had surgery on June 25 to repair the tendon. The surgery was performed by Dodgers team physician Neal ElAttrache at the Kerlan-Jobe Clinic in Los Angeles.

Hamstring muscle injuries frequently occur in athletes that run/sprint as part of their sport.  The hamstring muscle group is responsible for extending your leg straight back and bending your knee. Just to show how common hamstring injuries are, here are just a few MLB players recently sent to the DL with hamstring-related injuries:

• Rickie Weeks (Brewers) sidelined 4-6 months after hamstring surgery (reported 8/15/13)
• Wilin Rosario (Rockies) did not start Wednesday’s game after tweaked right hamstring. ( reported 8/14/13)
• Wilson Ramos (Nationals) re-injured his left hamstring while trying to beat out a grounder in the fourth inning on Tuesday (reported 8/14)
• Brian Bogusevic (Cubs) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to July 15 for strained left hamstring (reported 8/14/13)
• Carlos Beltran (Cardinals) admitting to a minor left hamstring pull he sustained against Philadelphia last month. (8/10/13)
• David Wright (Mets) was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a grade 2 strain of his right hamstring. (reported 8/2/13)