Wil Myers admitted Friday that he has tried to rush back this year from the disabled list, but the Padres outfielder-first baseman maintained that he fully intends to play again this season - and that he is now proceeding with greater caution.

“The reason I’m still on the DL is I’ve rushed it twice,” Myers said after taking his first swings with his usual, 34-inch bat since he underwent left wrist surgery. “So I definitely want to make sure that I take it slow and make sure I’m ready to come back.

“I want to know that my wrist is good going into the offseason. Whether I have five or six at-bats the rest of this year or have 120 at-bats, I just want to make sure I play this year, to get back into my rhythm and be 100 percent going into the offseason.”

Myers is traveling with the team for the first time since he had a bone spur in his wrist trimmed on June 18. He had begun swinging a shorter, 28-inch bat, but he soon was diagnosed with “general soreness” late last month and shut down. Last weekend, he resumed taking swings with that bat. Friday afternoon, he took 40 swings with it and then another 20 with his normal bat.


“The weight difference is a lot because I swing a pretty heavy bat, 32 1/2 ounces,” Myers said. “So right now, it’s a lot of the mental barrier I have to get over. I was actually really nervous to swing my bat today, but was able to get through it and get over it and now I’m going to feel more confident going into tomorrow. I’ve graduated from a short bat now, so I’m going to be swinging my bat from now on.”

Myers estimated he swung at 50-60 percent intensity with his bat Friday.

“It’ll probably 60, 70 percent be tomorrow, off the tee and flips,” he said.

Myers’ troubles began when he was diagnosed with wrist tendinitis in mid-May. He rehabbed the injury, eventually returning for three games in June, but was shut down immediately after that with more inflammation. Having determined that a bone spur he’d had since middle school was the root cause, Myers had it removed by hand specialist Dr. Donald Sheridan in Scottsdale, Ariz.


After his most recent setback, he visited Sheridan again and was told post-surgery soreness was not out of the norm. Meanwhile, an original target return of mid-August was scrapped.

“I can honestly say I don’t know,” Myers said of when he thought he might be able to play again. “It’s all a feel thing.

“Obviously, I want to be on the field and really want to get out there, but now I realize I have to slow it down because I have to make sure I can play this year.”

A linchpin for the offense early this season, Myers hit .291 with five home runs in 32 games before he first went on the DL.


Valverde suspended

Jose Valverde’s major league career, which the veteran reliever attempted to revive with the Padres this spring, appears to be all but over. The right-hander has received an 80-game suspension after testing positive for stanozolol, a performance-enhancing substance, Major League Baseball announced Friday.

The suspension will become effective immediately upon the right-hander’s signing with a major league organization. Valverde signed a minor league contract with the Padres in January and made a push for a roster spot in spring training before being released April 2. The former All-Star signed another minor league deal, with the Nationals, later that month. He was released in July.

Valverde has 288 saves over his career, but the 37-year-old hasn’t pitched in the majors since last May.