Brewers Blog The Journal Sentinel sports staff brings fans the latest news and inside information on the Brewers SHARE

By of the

Brewers assistant general manager Gord Ash provided an update Monday on Ryan Braun and it was a good one.

Ash said Braun swung a bat Sunday and reported that it felt "pretty good." Ash said Braun will take more swings later in the week to further test his right thumb.

Braun had a cryotherapy procedure performed after the season on the thumb, which had hampered him noticeably since last season due to a damaged nerve that made it painful to grip a bat. During that procedure, subzero temperatures were injected into the nerve via a needle in hopes of eliminating the pain.

Braun had a follow-up with the surgeon, Vernon Williams, who gave him clearance to swing a bat to test the thumb. The plan seems to be for Braun to periodically swing a bat to see how the thumb holds up. The procedure is somewhat experimental in terms of a hitter's thumb but the Brewers and Braun believe it provided a chance to move past the injury that rendered him mostly ineffective in the second half of the 2014 season.