It’s a small thing, perhaps, but one of my favorite pre-game-type updates is when folks see injured/rehabbing players doing work on the field before a game.

To that end, we got a couple of those types of updates just now. Here’s lefty Drew Smyly (2017 Tommy John surgery) throwing a simulated game:

Theo, Maddon among the observers at Smyly’s simulated game: pic.twitter.com/tRtP7J7fEg — Mark Gonzales (@MDGonzales) August 2, 2018

If that goes well today, it’s possible Smyly will head out on a rehab assignment. Typically, with a Tommy John rehab, a guy does short starts in the low minors, kinda working his way up and extending a bit as he climbs the ladder over the course of a month or so. Given that rosters expand to the full 40-man on September 1, that’s basically the trajectory I’d be looking at for Smyly’s debut with the Cubs, likely out of the bullpen.

Meanwhile, at long last, Brandon Morrow has picked up a baseball:

Along with Smyly throwing a sim game, Morrow is out in left throwing off flat ground for what I believe is the first time since he went on the DL. Last week Morrow said it'd be about two weeks from the point when he started throwing again. pic.twitter.com/l3PZMAzeHf — Sahadev Sharma (@sahadevsharma) August 2, 2018

Obviously everyone wants Morrow back as soon as possible, but a mid-August return would be pretty solid, given his injury history, the fact that it was his arm (biceps), and the ability for him to be in place for the run-up to the postseason. Heck, I’d already been bracing myself for him to miss most of August.

Hopefully he throws comfortably today, and then again this weekend. Maybe he can get on the mound next week at some point? Fingers crossed.

UPDATE: So far, so good: