Gentry, Baker pushing for quick return from DL

BALTIMORE -- The Rangers have a chance of getting outfielder Craig Gentry and infielder Jeff Baker off the disabled list soon after the All-Star break.

Gentry, who is sidelined with a fractured left hand, has been taking batting practice here in Baltimore, and the tentative plan is to begin a medical rehabilitation assignment with Double-A Frisco on Sunday. That would give him four games before the Rangers open the second half next Thursday against the Orioles at the Ballpark in Arlington.

"It's still a little achy, but definitely nothing I can't push through," Gentry said. "It can't get any worse. It doesn't really bother me and keeps getting better every day."

Baker, who is sidelined with a sprained right thumb, began taking full batting practice on Thursday. The Rangers don't have a definitive date on when he'll begin a medical rehab assignment, but it could be as early as Monday. Baker probably won't be ready right at the start of the second half on Thursday, but it should be shortly after that.

"Once you start hitting, you have to see how it feels tomorrow," Baker said. "If it doesn't bother me taking batting practice, it should move pretty quickly."

Baker was hitting .317 with nine home runs and 16 RBIs in 37 games before being placed on the disabled list on June 13. Gentry, who had been platooning with Leonys Martin in center field, was hitting .216 in 51 games, and he is still third on the team with eight stolen bases.