(SportsRadio 610) -- Astros left-handed pitcher Framber Valdez is throwing a baseball again after fracturing his finger last month during spring training, general manager James Click said Thursday.
This is a positive sign for the Astros, who once feared Valdez might require surgery and could miss the 2021 season.
Valdez pitched the most innings for the Astros in the abbreviated 2020 season.
In his first spring training start in March, Valdez fielded a comebacker from Francisco Lindor, suffering a fractured left ring finger.
"Framber is throwing a baseball again on flat ground, which is obviously a tremendous step forward," Click told reporters Thursday ahead of the Astros' home opener against the Oakland Athletics. "We're going to keep a very close eye on the continued healing of the finger, but the fact that he's able to start strengthening his arm and stretching himself out a little bit puts him on the right track."
