Justin Morneau takes batting practice but won't rush rehab process

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Justin Morneau took 25 swings during batting practice on Saturday and bounced back well enough to hit in the cage Sunday morning, clearing another hurdle as the 35-year-old eyes his White Sox debut sometime after the All-Star break in July. 

Saturday was the first day Morneau took batting practice since undergoing elbow surgery in the offseason. The 2006 American League MVP said he doesn’t have a hard timetable on when he’ll go out on a minor league rehab assignment but plans to keep taking batting practice and travel with the White Sox to Houston next weekend and make a determination from there. 

“We have a plan that we want to make sure to not come back too soon and don't come back at less than what's going to be useful,” Morneau said. “You push it as much as you can, but you have to be smart about it, too, and realize that coming back too soon and not being completely healthy is going to hurt in the long run. It's a fine line of figuring out the best way to do it. But so far it's been good.”

Morneau has 13 seasons of major league experience but admitted he was nervous stepping in for batting practice on Saturday. He quickly felt better after taking a few swings and didn’t experience anything unexpected during or after his first batting practice session. 

“It's different facing 65 than it is facing 95, too, so that'll be a test and then getting in the game and swinging and missing and all that kind of stuff,” Morneau said. “It’s a little more controlled when you know what's coming and you know every pitch is the same. But it's reacted well so far.”

Morneau traveled with the White Sox to Cleveland and Boston last week and has maintained a presence in the team’s clubhouse since signing a one-year, $1 million deal on June 9. The longtime Minnesota Twins first baseman was in the dugout when the White Sox blasted seven home runs on Saturday and had memories flash back of his time playing here as an opponent (in 64 games at U.S. Cellular Field, he hit 15 home runs with an .836 OPS). 

“I saw that and went, 'There's a reason I remember I like hitting here,’” Morneau said.

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