At one point last season, no one knew if Texas Rangers catcher Jonah Heim would play again.
In fact, the general consensus was his season was done.
That was July 28 when the Rangers put Heim on the 10-day injured list with a left wrist tendon strain. The Rangers were going to give him two or three weeks to rest and see if he could play through the pain. If he couldn’t, then he might need season-ending surgery.
He never needed surgery. In fact, he returned sooner than expected, and in the postseason, he caught every game as the Rangers won their first World Series title.
So how did he go from potential surgery to no surgery?
“I don’t know,” Heim said recently.
When doctors scanned his wrist, they told Heim that sort of injury usually required surgery. Doctors told him that most immediately have the surgery.
Not Heim. He opted to wait. The Rangers’ first-place record was part of the reason.
“I told the doctors that we had something special going and I was going to try and fight through it,” Heim said.
When he returned to the lineup on Aug. 13, he was only cleared to hit from the left side of the plate and started as a designated hitter. As the wrist got stronger, he got back behind the plate and eventually started hitting from the right side again.
After the World Series, Heim returned to see the Arizona wrist specialist. The scans were promising; no surgery was needed.
And entering spring training, the wrist is all clear.
“Everything is great,” Heim said. "The wrist feels good. The doctor had nothing but good things to say about it. Not worried about it.”
In spite of the injury, Heim posted career numbers at the plate — a .258 batting average with 18 home runs and 95 RBI. He started in his first All-Star Game and won his first Silver Slugger award.
With Mitch Garver signing with Seattle, Heim is no longer looking over his shoulder. He’s just looking for a little help. The Rangers will sort through those options during spring training while watching a healthy Heim work with the pitching staff in Surprise.
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