Oberg (forearm) acknowledged in an interview this week with Jack Etkin of Rockies Magazine that he's not actively preparing for a return to baseball. "I'm not really in a rush to pick up a ball again in the near term and give it another go," Oberg said. "Just in the sense that [I] keep running into the risk of having to go through all of this again. Now it's not really my decision, I don't feel at this point, really."
Oberg hasn't pitched for the Rockies or a minor-league affiliate since Aug. 16, 2019, after he was diagnosed with a blood clot shortly thereafter. Subsequent comeback attempts in August 2020 and in spring training last year were thwarted when the blood clots flared up again, with the latest one requiring surgical treatment on his throwing arm. With four document occurrences of the blood clot condition on his medical record -- he also had an incident that popped up in 2016 -- Oberg understandably has reservations about resuming his career and has since turned his focus to other endeavors, which include an online master's program at Georgetown University. Oberg is in the final season of a three-year, $13 million contract with the Rockies, so he's unlikely to formally retire until Colorado either releases him or declines his $8 million club option for 2023 later this fall.