Carlos Gonzalez will test out his sprained right middle finger in the instructional league beginning on Wednesday. It's the last test he'll go through before he determines whether or not to undergo surgery. The smart money would probably be on him ultimately having the operation, but it sounds like we'll know for sure soon. If he did have surgery, CarGo should be recovered in time for spring training.

Carlos Gonzalez (finger) could return for an at-bat or two before the end of the regular season to test his injured finger and help decide if he needs to undergo surgery. The Rockies could also opt to have him to the same thing during an instructional league game. Gonzalez has reportedly felt better after receiving a cortisone shot, though didn't feel great after a batting practice session before Wednesday's game.

The Denver Post's Troy Renck reports that Carlos Gonzalez (finger) "felt OK," but "not great" during a batting practice session Wednesday. It probably doesn't bode well for him playing later this week, though there's no official word from the Rockies yet. CarGo was feeling better after receiving a cortisone shot in his ailing right middle finger last Friday, but it would be silly for the club to push him at this point. It's still up in the air as to whether he'll undergo surgery.

Carlos Gonzalez (finger) will take soft-toss and then graduate to batting practice over the next few days. CarGo is feeling better after receiving a cortisone shot in his ailing right middle finger last Friday and isn't giving up hope of returning this season. At best, he would receive only a few token at-bats, but the outfielder is hopeful of avoiding surgery. "The concern is that I will lose flexibility in the finger with surgery. But I have to be able to swing, that's why we are trying this," Gonzalez said.

Carlos Gonzalez will hit off a tee on Sunday in hopes of batting again before season's end. CarGo received a cortisone shot in his right middle finger on Friday, and he's shown some improvement since. If all goes well with hitting off the tee, he'll progress to taking batting practice next week. It still seems like a long shot he returns to the lineup this year, and even if he does, it's hard to imagine he'll be very productive.

Carlos Gonzalez received a cortisone shot in his injured right middle finger on Friday, and will see how well that works before making a decision on whether or not to undergo surgery. Gonzalez has until November to determine whether he'll go under the knife. It appears as if he'll try every possible alternative first to alleviate the problem, with the uncommon surgical procedure looming as a worst case scenario.

Carlos Gonzalez visited a hand specialist Wednesday and still intends to undergo surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right middle finger. The operation likely won't occur until after the season, though, as the Rockies will keep him around as a defensive replacement for the final games. "He will be back again for [Thursday], hopefully . same role, available but not to hit," manager Walt Weiss said. "We'll probably wait until the season is over [for surgery]. That's not confirmed. That's probably the most likely scenario."

Carlos Gonzalez (finger) is leaning towards undergoing surgery to repair his injured ring finger. While it seems like it would be a simple procedure, it's actually a very uncommon surgery and would require extremely aggressive rehabilitation in order to ensure that full flexibility would return to his finger. It's certainly something to keep in mind when considering drafting CarGo next Spring.

Rockies manager Walt Weiss conceded Saturday that Carlos Gonzalez (finger) is unlikely to bat again this season. CarGo has appeared as a defensive replacement for a handful of games this month, but his sprained right middle finger still leaves him unable to swing a bat without pain. He hasn't started a game since August 4 and has started a total of just 11 in the second half. Despite the disappointing early end to his year, Gonzalez will still have batted .302/.367/.591 with 26 homers, 70 RBI and 21 steals.

Carlos Gonzalez (finger) was unable to taking batting practice Saturday. It's not clear whether he was able to take BP on Friday as hoped. CarGo's sprained right middle finger remains sore and swollen, and there's no timetable for when he'll swing a bat again. It's looking likely that he'll be available only as a defensive replacement for the final weeks.