Suárez making progress in shoulder rehab

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- The steps of progress were small, but important, for Reds third baseman Eugenio Suárez’s rehab from right-shoulder surgery. Suárez began throwing lightly on Thursday and he was swinging with both arms for the first time on Friday, before the Reds' 10-1 win over the A's at Goodyear Park.

“I was a little bit scared because I’ve got something that is new for me,” Suárez said. “But it was good for the first day. My arm, my shoulder feels OK, feeling better. I just want to get my comfort back. [On Friday,] I went 75 feet. It’s getting better every day. That’s the goal.”

Throwing doesn’t feel entirely natural for Suárez just yet.

“Definitely, I have something there,” he said. “Everybody knows that. It’s not about pain. It’s about my comfort to be there to make a good move, make a good throw. I don’t want to say it’s pain, but I don’t want to say it’s not pain because everybody knows I got something there. It’s not 100 percent yet. Not even close.”

Suárez had surgery to remove loose cartilage in his right shoulder on Jan. 28, not long after a swimming pool accident at his South Florida home.

Before the Reds took batting practice, Suárez was in an indoor cage taking swings off a tee.

“That was better than throwing,” Suárez said. “It was really good. It didn’t bother me at all. I swing with both hands. The process is good.”

Suárez, 28, is coming off the best season of his career. In 2019, he hit a career-high 49 home runs while batting .271/.358/.572 with 103 RBIs in 159 games.

Initially not expected to be ready for Opening Day, both Suárez and the club are more optimistic that it is possible.

“That’s the goal,” Suárez said. “But we don’t want to rush.”

The Reds have another option at third base with Mike Moustakas, who was a three-time All-Star at that position before moving full time to second base when he signed his four-year, $64 million contract with Cincinnati in December. However, Moustakas has yet to take ground balls at third base.

“We still want him to focus on second base as much as possible. But he will get work there,” Reds manager David Bell said. “[Suárez is] working so hard. His legs are going to be in great shape. He’s in better shape than he was at this time last year. When his shoulder says he’s ready to go, everything else is going to be ready. He’s giving himself every chance to be ready. That’s all you can do.”