A Question Of Cain

The second half of the season has started off with more of a sputter than a bang. A good showing against the division-leading Chicago White Sox would have been a great segue into the next phase of the season.

It didn’t really happen, but it did give us  a look at a player who we haven’t seen in about three months. In the excitement of Wil Myers’ success in (AA) and (AAA), news of the rehabilitation and revitalization of Lorenzo Cain has taken somewhat of a backseat.

I would say our first look seems positive. 3 hits and a walk on Friday, an RBI in one plate appearance on Saturday, and two hits today. All of that with a great catch late in the Sunday game that looked eerily reminiscent of the catch that put Cain on the D.L. in the first place. I don’t know about you, but I was holding my breath from the moment that Cain hit the wall in center-field until the moment that I saw him trotting around out there, none the worse for wear.

So my question is, what can we now expect from Lorenzo Cain? I spent the offseason in great anticipation of seeing Cain patrolling center-field. 5 games into the season and he was gone. When it was finally announced that he was finally back, it took me by surprise because, as stated above, I have been following the path of Wil Myers’ so adamantly that I kind of forgot about the guy who started in center-field at the beginning of the year. Not that I think Will Myers is going to push Lorenzo Cain. It’s well-documented on this site and others that Myers projects much better as a right-fielder. The question of whether Dayton Moore can or even wants to unload Francoeur, however, is an entirely different question that I don’t feel I can can adequately assess.

But now we get to revisit all the questions we had going into the start of the season. Is Cain a legitimate long-term option in center-field? Will he make the Greinke deal look even better than Escobar and Odorizzi already have? It’s too early to call at this point obviously, but if we look at the ridiculously small sample size we have from the weekend, it doesn’t look too bad. I’m ready to devote some of my time towards seeing if Cain can come back from an injury as well as Perez has, rather than spend time wondering when or if Myers is going to get a call-up before September.

How do you think Cain’s going to do throughout the rest of this year? Is he going to finish strong? I’d like a Perez-like showing, myself.