The criticism is behind him. Now, Stephen Drew wants to show he’s closer to returning.

Diamondbacks managing general partner Ken Kendrick blasted Drew last week, asserting the team’s starting shortstop should have recovered by now from a gruesome ankle injury that sidelined him last summer. And instead of falling into a war of words with his boss, Drew is focusing on his rehabilitation, determined to work his way back to the majors.

Drew was 1-for-4 with a triple and two strikeouts, as the Reno Aces suffered a 3-1 loss to the Sky Sox on Monday at Security Service Field. The Sky Sox (30-34) snapped a 1-1 tie with two runs in the eighth inning, when Matt McBride ripped an RBI triple off Takashi Saito (0-1) and Brandon Wood hit an RBI single off him. The Aces (38-27) struck out 12 times, with the win to Dustin Molleken (3-0) and Zach Putnam recording his ninth save.

A 2004 first-round draft pick by the D’Backs, Drew, 29, has gone 4-for-13 with a home run and two RBIs in three games with the Aces, who have won 12 of their past 14 games in taking a 7 ½-game lead on the Sky Sox in the Pacific Northern division of the Pacific Coast League. There’s no timetable for when he’ll rejoin the mediocre D’Backs. It’s just a matter of when he feels his ankle can withstand the grind of playing almost every day.

Reno manager Brett Butler plans to play Drew every other game, with Drew undergoing workouts on his off days, his most significant action since he was elevated from extended spring training. Drew spent his offseason rehabbing with trainer Brett Fischer in Phoenix – he normally goes home to Georgia, but he didn’t because of the severity of the injury in which he fractured his right ankle and ripped three ligaments sliding into home last July.

In an interview with a Phoenix radio station, Kendrick said, “Stephen should have been out there playing before now. I, for one, am disappointed. I’m going to be real candid and say Stephen and his representatives are more focused on where Stephen is going to be a year from now than on going out and supporting the team that’s paying his salary.”

Willie Bloomquist and John McDonald have played well in place of Drew, however, the D’Backs, despite a payroll that was increased by $20.6 million to $74.2 million, are third in the NL West at .500, a year after they claimed the division with 94 wins. It’s possible Drew, making $7.75 million this season, won’t return next year, when the D’Backs could turn down a $10 million mutual option in favor of a $1.35 million buyout, especially after the D’Backs gave catcher Miguel Montero a five-year, $60 million extension last month.

Some have called Drew soft, a reputation he has developed mainly because of his injury-prone older brother, J.D. Drew. Yet from 2007 to 2010, Drew appeared in 588 games, the third-most among NL shortstops in that span, and he gained the admiration of teammates for twisting his own ankle back into place after it bent 180 degrees the wrong direction.

Contact Brian Gomez: 719-636-0256 or brian.gomez@gazettedev.gazette.com. Facebook: Brian Gomez. Twitter: @gazetteskysox. Google+: Brian Gomez. For the Sky Sox homepage, visit http://www.gazettedev.gazette.com/sections/roxsox. For the Sky Sox blog, visit http://skysox.freedomblogging.com.