Former University of Maine teammates and current Major League Baseball players Jeremy Pena (Houston), Cody Laweryson (Minnesota) and Matt Pushard (St. Louis) have all recently returned from the injured list.
Shortstop Pena, a third round draft pick of the Astros, was placed on the injured list with a Grade 1 hamstring strain on April 13 and began a rehabilitation stint with the Class AA Corpus Christi Hooks on May 12 before being activated by the Astros on Monday.
He has gone 3-for-11 in his first three games back for the Astros in their series against the Minnesota Twins.
Pena fractured the tip of his right ring finger during an exhibition game and missed playing in the World Baseball Classic for the Dominican Republic.
Pena was the first rookie to ever be named the American League Championship Series and the World Series Most Valuable Player in the same season in 2022 and is coming off his best season as he hit .304 with 17 homers, 62 runs batted in and 20 stolen bases in 125 games last season.
Right-handed reliever Pushard from Brewer made his Major League debut for the Cardinals on March 29 in an 11-7 loss to Tampa Bay. He was touched up for three hits and three runs in an inning of work with a strikeout and a walk.
He went on the injured list for right knee patellar tendinitis on March 31 and began a rehab stint with the AAA Memphis Redbirds on April 15. He made 11 appearances for the Redbirds and was 1-1 with a 3.55 earned run average and a save before being called up by the Cardinals on Saturday.
On Sunday, he came into the game against the Kansas City Royals in the top of the ninth inning with the bases loaded and nobody out. Kansas City was leading 2-0.
He registered a strikeout and a double play grounder to get out of the inning unscathed but the Cardinals didn’t score in the bottom of the ninth.
Laweryson, who is from Moscow, Maine, and is also a right-handed reliever, had made five appearances for the Twins and was 0-0 with his first career save and a 4.26 ERA. He allowed three hits and three earned runs in 6 ⅓ innings with eight strikeouts and two walks.
But he suffered a right forearm strain and was put on the injured list on April 11.
He began a rehab stint with the AAA Saint Paul Saints on Saturday and has made one appearance, pitching a scoreless, hitless inning with a walk.
Laweryson made his Major League debut at the end of last season and was 0-1 with a 1.17 ERA. He struck out seven and didn’t walk anyone over 7 ⅔ innings. He allowed four hits.
All three are 28 years old.
Laweryson was a 14th-round draft pick of the Twins and Pushard was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Miami Marlins in 2022 and was obtained by the Cardinals during the Rule 5 draft this past December.
