Braun feels good in first activity since thumb surgery

Ryan Braun's comeback from right thumb surgery has officially begun.

Brewers assistant general manager Gord Ash reported that Braun swung a bat Sunday, and Braun told club officials he felt "pretty good." It was Braun's first baseball activity since he underwent a cryotherapy procedure on Oct. 2, when specialists at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles inserted a needle at the base of Braun's right thumb to freeze a troublesome nerve that has caused him problems for the past two seasons.

Pain from the nerve forced Braun to alter the mechanics of his swing and sapped his power in 2014, when he played 135 games and posted career lows across the board, with a .266 batting average, .324 on-base percentage, .453 slugging percentage and .777 OPS.

Since there is no apparent Plan B, Braun and the Brewers have a lot riding on the results of this month's procedure. Braun will earn $12 million in 2015 before a five-year, $105 million extension kicks in beginning with the 2016 season.