There was fear this week that Red Sox left-hander David Price would need elbow surgery, but those worries were put to rest Friday. It turns out that elbow experts Dr. James Andrews and Dr. Neal ElAttrache diagnosed Price with a mild flexor strain and some bone spurs, industry sources told Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. That Price dodged a more serious injury surprised the doctors, the ace revealed. “They said it multiple times; we expected this to be a lot worse than what it really is,” said Price, who added that Andrews and ElAttrache informed him he has an “extremely unique” elbow. “It’s found a way to kind of heal itself,” he continued. “It’s pretty neat, bionic elbow.” Although Price avoided a season-ending issue, he’s still likely to begin the campaign on the disabled list and miss a to-be-determined amount of starts, according to Abraham. How much time Price misses will largely be up to him, though, as the doctors want the 31-year-old to map out his own recovery program. “I’ll know when I feel good enough to go out there and throw a baseball,” declared Price.
More pitcher-related injury updates:
- Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom took the mound Saturday for the first time since last September, when he underwent elbow surgery, and dazzled in two scoreless innings, reports Dan Martin of the New York Post. DeGrom’s average fastball velocity fell from 94.9 mph in 2015 to 93.4 mph last year, but it clocked in between 96 and 97 mph at times Saturday. “When I saw the 97, I looked at (pitching coach) Dan (Warthen) and said, ‘That’s a little special,’” said manager Terry Collins. Naturally, deGrom also came away encouraged. “Last year, it was all I had to get to 92 [mph],” deGrom noted. “It has to do with repeating my mechanics. Last year, I flew open all the time and my arm was dragging.”
- Unlike deGrom, Angels lefty Tyler Skaggs endured a rather poor spring debut Saturday, relays Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter links). In his first outing since undergoing a major injury scare last September, the onetime Tommy John surgery recipient recorded only two outs against four walks. More alarmingly, Skaggs saw his fastball dip from 89 to 92 mph at the beginning of the inning to 86 to 88 mph by the end of it.
- Southpaw Chris Rusin is attempting to claim the last spot in the Rockies’ rotation this spring, but those efforts will go on hold for an “extended period,” writes Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com. Rusin hurt his right side in his outing Friday, causing him to leave the game, and will “be out for a while,” manager Bud Black said.
- Tigers righty reliever Adam Ravenelle departed the team’s game Saturday with elbow discomfort and will undergo an MRI, skipper Brad Ausmus announced (via Evan Woodbery of MLive.com). Ravenelle, a non-roster invitee whom Baseball America ranks as Detroit’s eighth-best prospect, underwent ulnar nerve surgery in his elbow in 2012, per Woodbery. More recently, the 24-year-old combined for 67 1/3 innings at three different levels last season. The plurality of his work came at Triple-A Toledo, where he put up a 4.85 ERA to go with 6.98 K/9 against 4.85 BB/9 in 29 2/3 frames.
- Braves Rule 5 pick Armando Rivero has been dealing with shoulder soreness, though manager Brian Snitker said Saturday that there’s no sign of structural damage, tweets Mark Bowman of MLB.com. Braves doctors cleared the righty, previously with the Cubs, to continue throwing and vying for a job with Atlanta. Rivero, 29, pitched to a 2.13 ERA and recorded a sky-high 13.97 K/9 against a bloated 4.66 BB/9 in 67 2/3 innings with the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate in 2016.
Love to hear deGrom is firing on all cylinders! Fingers crossed for full rotation health in 2017.
Good luck with that
I know Angels fans will hate me for saying this, Skaggs should be a reliever!
Maybe. Let’s see how his next few outings go.
Yeah let’s be patient!
your crazy to say that already. that’s not even in the cards right now
He just needs to be eased in more.
No real reason to consign him to the bullpen after 1 start in ST.
He did indicate he was backing off on his velocity to try to regain control. My guess is that he was too amped for his first game after he was shutdown late last year and tried to do too much, which caused him to do nothing at all.
I suspect he will be fine by Opening Day and a reliable #3 during the season.
Skaggs every single since he was drafted, including the years in the minors. When he reaches 50 to 60 innings, he hits the wall and has to miss starts do to arm problems. Even last year after he finally made it back to the majors, he missed starts do to arm trouble. This isn’t a one start. Or a one time thing. He would be a good long reliever spot starter. Something the Angels will defentily need, this season.
Flexor strains and bone spurs can arise from a lax UCL and may be precursors for TJS down the road. Its not if but when. Meanwhile we should continue to see a further decline in velocity and command until it blows
Ya but it will heal itself.
“Skaggs saw his fastball dip from 89 to 92 mph at the beginning of the inning to 86 to 88 mph by the end of it.”
Shouldn’t the numbers be flipped? It saw a dip from 92 to 89 and 88 to 86?
he’s saying the range went from 89-92 and then lowered to 86-88
Interesting what the doctors said about his elbow. The term “rubber arm” has been around for a long time, but maybe they are beginning to understand why some elbows fail, and others can take all kinds of abuse and stay healthy.