By Hunt Palmer
Chris Stanfield‘s status is improving, but the senior outfielder’s availability is in doubt for this weekend.
On Saturday, Stanfield slid into home on a Jake Brown ground ball to first base. He arrived at the plate just after the ball and collided with the Milwaukee catcher. As he stood and walked over to the LSU dugout, he was favoring his right hand.
He missed LSU’s games Sunday, Monday and Wednesday as the swelling remained. The Tallahassee native did travel to Jacksonville with the team Wednesday evening.
“The swelling has gone down massively over the last two days,” said LSU head coach Jay Johnson. “I feel like we’re closer to getting him back than we were, and I’m very optimistic. I don’t know if he’ll play this weekend or not.”
Stanfield led LSU in hitting and runs scored during SEC play last season and started the first two games of this year in left field. Brayden Simpson and Tanner Reaves have started the three games while Stanfield has been out.
With a pair of left-handed pitchers set to face the Tigers on Friday and Saturday, Simpson’s right-handed bat makes the most sense. LSU will welcome Stanfield back when he’s ready.
“When he’s good to go, he’ll go,” Johnson said. “The toughness piece of him is a real thing, and we don’t see this as a long-term thing.”
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