Texas slugger Hamilton cleared to begin rehab games
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}DALLAS (Reuters) - American League most valuable player Josh Hamilton, sidelined for five weeks with a broken right arm, has been given medical clearance to begin a minor league rehab assignment, the team said on Wednesday.
Hamilton, who suffered a non-displaced hairline fracture of his humerus bone on April 12 during the Rangers' 5-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers, is expected to be the designated hitter on Wednesday and Thursday for Double-A Frisco.
The three-time All-Star had a CT scan earlier on Wednesday which revealed "significant healing", the Rangers said in a statement. He was then cleared by team physician Dr. Keith Meister to begin rehab games.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It was the third time in the last three seasons he had been placed on the disabled list and he was initially expected to be sidelined for at least eight weeks.
Hamilton batted .359 with 32 home runs and 100 RBIs last season and helped Texas to the World Series despite missing a significant number of games in the stretch last September with a rib injury.
(Writing by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Frank Pingue)