Stephen Drew not close to being ready

Diamondbacks shortstop Stephen Drew is making headway in his comeback from a fractured right ankle injury that abruptly ended his 2011 campaign, but don’t expect to see him playing in Spring Training games anytime soon.

“He took ground balls again,” D-backs manager Kirk Gibson said. “He’s progressing, but he’s a long way off. I mean, it looked better, there was less swelling, but he was sore today.”

Drew has been easing his way back onto the field, in an effort to gain confidence in his ankle’s ability to hold up after strenuous workouts. So far he’s had success, but he’s not yet ready to increase his schedule of workouts.

“He’s basically been trying to go two days in a row and a day off after that,” Gibson explained. “We’re trying to get him to every day.”

Once Drew can start practicing on a daily basis with the D-backs, Gibson and his staff may reassess his availability to participate in live action.

“He’s not close to playing in any games right now, I know that,” Gibson stated. He’s got a lot of things he has to do before he’s even close. But, it’s normal. A lot of it, if you watch him, has to do with his comfort level, certain drills that he does. He might not admit it; he’s getting more comfortable with it.”

Gibson expressed that it will be a long while before Drew feels any sense of normalcy, but that he’ll learn how to trust in his ankle again and his ability to perform as he did pre-surgery.

In regards to Drew’s availability for the start of the season on April 6, Gibson hasn’t even begun to speculate.

“We don’t have him on a timetable,” Gibson said. “When he’s ready to play he’s ready to play. We don’t know [about Opening Day]. Some guys are earlier, some guys are later, and some guys are right on target.”

Last year, Drew was hitting .252 with 5 HR and 45 RBI at the time of the injury. Willie Bloomquist and John MacDonald will likely split time at short, until Drew can resume play.

Follow @AZSports