Sidelined by Injury, Blake Perkins is Still Trying to Make the Most of His Spring

Blake Perkins’s recovery from a fractured right shin is progressing slower than he or the Brewers initially anticipated.

“I was told to continue to be patient,” Perkins told reporters on Sunday. “The fracture, I guess, is just in a tough spot. It’s just going to possibly take a little bit longer than I would have hoped, or anyone would have hoped, coming into it.”

Perkins clarified that he did not suffer a setback. He is simply bound to his body’s healing process, which requires more time. Since he was cleared for light activity last week, he’s been throwing and running on an anti-gravity treadmill at 30 percent of his body weight. It could take a bit before Perkins can commence a true ramp-up, though.

Naturally, frustration has accompanied his inability to be on the field.

“I think when you’re injured—at least, when I’ve been injured—it kind of hurts to go out there and watch when I can’t be a part of it,” he admitted.

However, Perkins has still taken advantage of the opportunities presented to him in spring training to remain physically and mentally sharp, so he can ramp up as quickly as possible. He is using other cardio machines to stay in shape without putting pressure on his legs, and he has stood in to see pitches against the Trajekt machine the Brewers use to simulate real-life pitchers. He’s also staying engaged in games in which he cannot physically participate.

“Yeah, 100 percent,” Perkins said when asked if there are still lessons to learn from the bench. “There’s always questions to ask, so when I sit on the bench, I’m constantly talking to [Rhys Hoskins] and whoever else is out there … I’m not at the away games, so these home games are really the biggest time I can take to survey the field, see what people are doing differently this year, and just be around the game.”

With family in town, Perkins has even watched a few games from the stands.

“I get to see what it’s like on the other side, which I haven’t been able to do in so long,” he said. “It’s been fun. It’s just [having] small appreciation for things like that, which I wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise.”

When his teammates travel to New York on Tuesday, Perkins will remain behind in Arizona to continue rehabbing. He’ll continue trying to make the most of that time.

“Trying to take the best out of it that I can,” he said.