SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- You can see it in the bounce in Joe Panik's step, with the exuberant pivots he makes at second base. He's healthy again, and he's reveling in it.
The lower back inflammation that prematurely ended Panik's 2015 season has vanished, leaving the second baseman noticeably happier on the field and in the clubhouse. And who wouldn't feel that way?
"Just being able to get back out on the field again, put on the spikes and get out there with the guys again is a good feeling," he said Wednesday. "Being on the disabled list last year, the way everything happened, was a different experience for me.