"The Stephen Drew updates usually arrive every Friday.

The e-mails will pop into General Manager Kevin Towers' inbox and they'll carry word of the Diamondbacks shortstop's recovery from ankle surgery.

Sometimes it's just a written note from the doctor or the trainer, but often there's a video attachment. There's Drew on a treadmill. There he is doing agility drills.

The Diamondbacks have been receiving these updates for months -- Drew has been working out with a non-team-affiliated trainer -- and although spring training is only about two weeks away, there is little that can be said definitively on his status.

Perhaps he will be ready for Opening Day. Perhaps he won't be.

"I would imagine we'll have to take it rather slowly with him in spring training," Towers said last week. "I'm hopeful he'll play in some games in spring training. Will he play in our opening game? I don't know. I haven't laid eyes on him other than to see him on video doing some agility drills. We'll have a better idea probably at the end of February when the position players show up. I would imagine he may be in a little earlier than that.""