Chad Bettis celebrated his 28th birthday on Wednesday. Fighting off testicular cancer for the second time, he learned he’ll be rejoining his teammates as he nears the end of his second round of chemotherapy on Tuesday.
When the Colorado Rockies head down to the desert this weekend for a series Against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Bettis will be with them, which has the clubhouse in high spirits. He will not play, but still, he will be back around baseball.
“The feeling’s great,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “He addressed the team in Spring Training and there was a positive vibe to his talk to the team. We’re going to see him day after tomorrow. He’ll be in Phoenix with us. He’s living in Scottsdale, the treatments are in Arizona. He’s going to join the team on Friday. He’ll be with us over the weekend and he’ll be in uniform. He’ll be in the dugout. I’m sure we’ll know more then, in a little bit, because we’re going to see him. He’ll probably play catch and work on some things.”
It’s a positive sign, as is Bettis’ progression through chemotherapy. Still, an exact date as to when he will return to the mound has yet to be determined.
“I don’t know the specifics,” Black said. “I wish I could know that. I know that he’s winding down on his treatments–I don’t know the specific days or dates, but I want to say his treatments are ending here in a couple weeks and he’s feeling good.”
The initial timetable of a midsummer return is still a distinct possibility. That is secondary however, as his health is most important.
“The initial target was right around the first couple weeks of July based on how he came out of this and what we he was able to do during the treatments to keep him as in-shape as possible,” Black said. “There’s a component of when he’s done with his treatments and he gets the clean bill of health from the oncologist and his doctors to resume workouts with no restriction, that’s usually about a month. I don’t know when that’s coming.”
Although the squad will undoubtedly be glad to have their teammate back from this terrifying ordeal, the trainers will still have to address the strength component that’s almost always associated with a treatment so rigorous.
“Anytime you undergo chemotherapy, it takes a toll on the body,” Black said. “We feel as though, from everything that we’ve heard, that he’s in a good spot, based on everything he’s been going through. It’s along the timeline that the doctors though.”
