Corey Hart making 'encouraging' progress

With the start of spring training a few weeks away, new Mariners first baseman/outfielder Corey Hart said his surgically repaired knees are holding up, according to The News Tribune.

"I’ve ramped up everything," he said Sunday. "I’ve been running bases and doing baseball stuff. I haven’t gotten on the field yet to do fly balls, but I’ve been doing simulated ground balls to work on my footwork and agility. It’s been progressing. I’ve been able to do everything. It’s been nice."

The Mariners signed Hart as a logical fit to play at first base and DH, but the team is hoping he will be able to log time in the outfield as well. Hart believes he can do that, but he expects to deal with a bit of pain as he comes back after missing the entire 2013 season.

"I’ll have to figure out if it’s pain because of injury or just soreness from muscles that I haven’t been using. I’m going to have to go through that," Hart said. "But having missed a year, I want to make sure I don’t rush things and have any setbacks. So far, it’s been great. My workouts have been great. Everything has been encouraging."