Phillies Notes: After hernia surgery, Polanco says he's healthy

CLEARWATER, Fla. - It wasn't until doctors repaired two tears in Placido Polanco's abdomen that the third baseman understood how hurt he was.

"Every time I coughed, every time I laughed," Polanco said, "it hurt."

Polanco, 36, arrived for spring training Wednesday confident he can stay healthy, like just about every other baseball player at this time of year. There are serious doubts about his ability to stay on the field, and they are reasonable. Polanco has missed 70 games in the last two seasons combined. Now, he's a year older.

The back, elbow, and abdominal injuries that befell him are healed. Polanco hit .398 last April and .243 for the rest of the season, a sign that his body broke down.

What does he want to forget from 2011?

"Everything," he said. "Everything but the Gold Glove."

Polanco underwent offseason surgery to repair a double sports hernia. Doctors told him one of the tears was serious and the other was about to reach that point. Polanco said it wasn't the pain that bothered him during the year, but the general weakness that overcame his body. When Polanco wanted to do baseball work before games, he was bound to the trainer's room for additional treatment just to keep him on the field.

He said he spent the winter taking ground balls, running, and hitting. He is cleared to participate fully in spring training, but manager Charlie Manuel said earlier in the week that he could limit Polanco in Grapefruit League play. Ideally, that would keep Polanco fresher for the season.

Polanco said Wednesday he was unaware of any such plans. He had yet to speak with Manuel. For now, Polanco plans to proceed as usual.

"You have to think like that," Polanco said. "You can't think, 'Oh, I'm going to get hurt.' I got fixed. I did a good rehab. So, we'll see. I think I'm going to stay healthy."

New acquisition Ty Wigginton started 62 games at third base for Colorado in 2011 and will provide insurance at third. But asked how many games he'd like to play in 2012, Polanco set his sights high.

"The goal is . . . how many games do we play?" Polanco said.

One hundred sixty-two, he was told.

"That's the goal," he said.

The Phillies promoted Marti Wolever to assistant general manager for amateur scouting on Wednesday. Wolever had served as director of scouting for the previous decade and oversees the Phillies' draft.

In the drafts run by Wolever, the Phillies have procured such players as Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels, and Kyle Kendrick. More important, Wolever's drafts have supplied the minor-league talent used to acquire Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and Hunter Pence, among many others.

"We are pleased to recognize his numerous contributions with this promotion," general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said in a statement.

Wolever joins Scott Proefrock and Benny Looper as an assistant general manager under Amaro.

Position players must report Thursday. The only players not present for Wednesday's non-mandatory workout were Michael Martinez, Freddy Galvis, Cesar Hernandez, Hector Luna, and Lou Montanez. The first full-squad workout is Friday.