Delmon Young injury: Aiming for mid-April return

The Philadelphia Phillies received good news on the injury front today, as outfielder Delmon Young is recovering from microfracture surgery faster than expected. The Phillies are now hoping to get the slugger back by mid-to-late April, according to David Murphy of The Philadelphia Daily News.

Young underwent surgery on his ankle over the offseason and has been rehabbing since. General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said that he's hoping Young begins playing in minor league games at some point by the middle of April, if not earlier in the month.

Amaro also confirmed that Young will be the team's right fielder once he's healthy. He will be limited to right, as Amaro said he's "not a good left fielder, and doesn't want to play there." This would leave one of Domonic Brown, John Mayberry Jr. and Laynce Nix to handle the left side.

The Phillies signed Young to a one-year, $750k major league contract in January. The 27-year-old has spent the past two seasons with the Detroit Tigers after they acquired him from the Minnesota Twins. He hit .267/.296/.411 with 27 doubles and 18 home runs over 608 plate appearances in 2012. In seven seasons in the majors, he owns a career batting line of .284/.317/.425.