Pulled pork UCLs & noodle arms: thread of pitcher injuries

(for gyac: i ate 10 tacos next to jeff weaver last night )

RHP Spencer Strider yesterday underwent surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow with internal brace, performed by Dr. Keith Meister in Arlington, TX. He will miss the remainder of the 2024 season.

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) April 13, 2024

See you at the 2025 ASB sweet prince.

Now I have to consider dropping him in our Fantasy League because he'll be a huge question mark for next season and beyond.

I am a bit of a height-ist w/r/t pitchers & mechanics and I always assume shorter pitchers are doomed due to human physiology.

keith meister? was neal el attrache on vacation?

xp bummer. I knew as soon as he started getting those DeGrom comparisons something like this was inevitable

xp

Trevor Story today underwent a successful arthroscopic repair of the posterior labrum, with an open reduction and internal fixation of the fracture of the glenoid rim.

The procedure was performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache at the Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles, CA.

— Red Sox (@RedSox) April 13, 2024

Happy 50th!

https://i.imgur.com/vAinJQ3.png

who are the success stories for this UCL brace surgery vs regular ol' tommy john?

It’s too new to know I think but Ohtani and DeGrom have both had it. Supposedly it’s likely going to replace full Tommy John in the future. Bryce Harper had it.

i guess since strider and ohtani already had TJ once and given the stats around twice-TJ its not like they have much choice

Bobby Miller, LAD's SP3, just hit the IL-15 for shoulder inflammation retroactive to 4/11, not sure if it's legit or just a way to manage his workload.

I had forecasted some workload issues (~23 starts?) this season based on his IP history:

2021: 56 IP
2022: 112 IP
2023: 138 IP

...but this is coming a little faster than expected. LAD are no strangers to IL shenanigans but I sincerely hope Miller is okay.

Robert Stephenson (who was supposed to be LAA's closer) had his first AAA rehab assignment today coming back from shoulder inflammation that shut him down in February:

He threw 4 straight balls, then walked off the field straight into the locker room.

...but this is coming a little faster than expected. LAD are no strangers to IL shenanigans but I sincerely hope Miller is okay.

Bednar is b0rked

Yeah the circumstances suggest this ain't a phantom stint :(((((( reports say nothing structurally woresome came up tho and he should be throwing next week. Emmett Sheehan recently had a set back in his recovery too, but Buehler should be back soon!

stephenson is done for the year, of course

TIL Triston McKenzie opted NOT to have TJ last season (I presumed he did) in spite of having a torn UCL and missing 1.5 seasons doing "rehab"... uh...

His 4SFB is down 90mph vs. rated 92mph, currently 5.00 ERA/1.61 WHIP.

Oof.

saw that spencer strider had a bone fragment that was 'growing' in his UCL. not sure if that means he has the nolan ryan self-repairing ACL super-gene

Omg speak it into existence!

LAD have won 6 straight, let's check in on their pitching status report after 1 month:

James Paxton: was supposed to start today on normal rest but now is not...?
Tyler Glasnow: (DTD, hand cramps, pulled from last start)
Yoshinobu Yamamoto: healthy (!)
Bobby Miller: IL15 (shut down, will start playing catch on Mon/Tue)
Emmet Sheehan: IL60 (shut down due to self-professed arm soreness, but team claims it's his shoulder which even Emmet is confused by official team diagnosis)
Walker Buehler: IL15 (0-2/4.68 ERA/1.68 WHIP in rehab, remaining in AAA for now)
Clayton Kershaw: IL60 (played catch yesterday on flat ground)
Shohei Ohtani: IL60 (rumored to be available in September?)
Dustin May: IL60 (in TJ recovery, may be back in 2024?)
Tony Gonsolin: IL60 (had TJ in February after non-invasive attempts to recover from UCL sprain in offseason, may be available after 2025 ASB)
Brusdal Graterol: IL60 (shut down due to slower than expected recovery)
Blake Treinen: IL15 (27.00 ERA/3.75 WHIP in 2 rehab appearances)
Kyle Hurt: IL15 (pains me to say but Kyle is... Hurt)
Connor Brogdon: IL15 (recent trade acquisition from PHI, went straight to IL)
River Ryan: IL60 (shut down)

Nooooooooo Steveeeeeeeeee, I don't need this information collated :(((((((

You forgot Gavin Stone, who was a stone cold stunner last start (don't look up the opponent)

There haven't been any noted injury worries with Paxton either yet. Just a mutually agreement between him and the FO to pitch with an extra day's rest (same as Yamamoto iirc)

I don’t know if I’d include Glasnow in the list, it was just a hand cramp and he was pulled after over 90 pitches. I was watching that game and he looked fine when he came out.

Both Glasnow & Giolito were recently on Chris Rose Rotation and said pitcher injuries were (no shit) due to guys throwing harder and faster and not resting over the offseason. Glasnow got very frank with it: he said that kids coming up pitching today know that they won’t get drafted throwing control stuff with no velo and from the perspective of someone who wanted to be in the big leagues, he saw surgery and pain as a necessary price to achieve the dream, and said all pitchers felt the same. Giolito agreed on his episode, though not so candidly.

Buehler about to throw his first start in nearly 2 years

Not terrible nor great. Fastball looked good, breaking stuff not as much. No walks a good sign. If he can continue working on painting that fastball like no one else as was his previous M.O. then he'll be looking good

I really like buehler, not just as a fan. I hope he can make something good out of this season. He's definitely unlikely to be back with the dodgers next season but I hope he can find a way to get a contract and build a lengthy career after these injuries