Nevin working his way back to game shape in Portland



If his rehab goes well, he could be back by July 29.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Forget Phil Nevin's shoulder. It's the rest of his body that's aching right now.
Nevin, rehabilitating from a dislocated left shoulder, is working his way back to game shape with the Triple-A Portland Beavers before rejoining the San Diego Padres.
"Obviously, everybody wants to talk about my shoulder, but I have the normal soreness you'd have five, six days into spring training," Nevin said. "Everything probably is a little bit sore except my shoulder because of all the work that's been done on it."
Nevin injured the shoulder diving for a ball in the outfield during a spring training game against the Chicago White Sox. He had surgery on March 11. Nevin began his rehab assignment with Single-A Lake Elsinore before joining the Beavers on Thursday. He was 0-for-2 and played first base in the opening of a four-game series against Salt Lake. On Friday, he was the team's designated hitter, going 0-for-3. Nevin will likely remain with the Beavers through an eight-game road trip starting Monday. If all goes well, he'll rejoin the Padres on July 29 in Pittsburgh.
"It always nice to come out and hit a couple of balls hard, but realistically right now I want to see pitches, I want to get in different situations bat-wise," he said. "It's like spring training. It's a slow process, frustrating at times, but you've got to trust yourself that things are going to come back to normal here, soon."