With pitchers and catchers having now reported to their respective spring training sites, there’s a fair bit of news around the health of a number of pitchers around the sport.
Red Sox right-hander Brayan Bello will take the weekend off throwing, and hopes to be able to throw again Monday, per Sean McAdam of the Boston Sports Journal. Bello apparently felt tightness in his forearm this week. Any time tightness and forearm are mentioned in the same sentence regarding a young pitcher there’s a fair bit of concern, but Bello says he believes it’s due to throwing a higher number of breaking balls of late.
In any case, he’ll be shutdown temporarily and the Red Sox and Bello will be hoping he’s good to go next week. Bello figures to compete for a spot in the Red Sox’ starting rotation this year. The 23-year-old made 11 solid starts (and two relief appearances) last season, working to a 4.71 ERA with a 20.5% strikeout rate and 10.1% walk rate.
Here’s a few other injury tidbits from around the sport:
- Orioles closer Felix Bautista told reporters, including Jake Rill of MLB.com, that he expects to be ready for opening day. Bautista has spent the winter rehabbing left knee and right shoulder injuries, and has thrown four bullpen sessions since January. He’s believes he’ll be ready to get into spring matches around March 15, and will need four or five spring innings to get up to speed. Bautista was dominant for the Orioles during his rookie year last season, pitching to a 2.19 ERA across 65 2/3 innings, striking out batters at a quality 34.8% clip.
- Astros starter Lance McCullers Jr. has been shut down temporarily following him experiencing some soreness in his throwing arm (via Mark Berman of Fox 26). There’s always a bit of concern there particularly given McCullers’ injury history, but manager Dusty Baker gave reporters a promising outlook “he’s just getting treatment. He’s feeling pretty good. He’s feeling better.” McCullers is into his eighth season with the Astros. A forearm strain suffered in 2021 limited him to just eight starts in 2022, but he still worked to an impressive 2.27 ERA in those handful of appearances.
- Yankees starter Luis Severino is entering his walk year, so naturally hoping for a strong, and healthy, campaign. After missing the bulk of three-straight seasons, Severino returned to make 19 starts last year, working to a 3.18 ERA. A lat strain sidelined him for two months of the season, but the Yankees were unsurprisingly happy to exercise the $15MM club option they held over the 28-year-old ahead of the 2023 season. While the significant injury history won’t help, a full season of ~30 starts of his typically excellent output could set Severino up for a big payday next winter. “Health is always the question with him. I feel like he’s done everything he needs to this offseason. He’s been around Tampa. He’s been at the complex. He’s getting his work in. Physically, he looks like he’s in a good spot. I think everything we’ve wanted out of him this offseason, he’s answered the bell. He’s ready to go this year. We feel good about the way he’s reported,” pitching coach Matt Blake told Brendan Kuty of The Athletic. The Yankees are depending even more so on a healthy season from Severino after the news that Frankie Montas will miss the majority of the year as he recovers from shoulder surgery.
yankeedoodledandy
It looks like the Yankees are going to run the same offense out there, because the assets needed to trade for third base and left field will have to be used on pitching at the All-Star break.
miltpappas
Regarding Bello: Ruh-Roh!
dr. remulak
Forearm tightness. Two days off from throwing works like a charm! Followed by an MRI in 10 days, and Tommy John in three weeks.
Fever Pitch Guy
remulak – How is it possible that a 23-year-old pitcher has health issues? According to some “fans” here, it’s only pitchers over 30 who have the injuries … especially the ones that Bloom decides not to sign.
So I guess maybe pitchers in their mid to late 20’s can have injuries just like pitchers in their 30’s? Hmmm … who woulda thunk it!
GASoxFan
Fever – the number of young arms needing a TJ or a brace procedure keeps climbing because they throw so many offspeed/breaking balls in HS/college, then through all the minors.
Years ago they didn’t do much off speed in HS, and you saw guys really start throwing it at the upper levels of the minors as they polished up for their mlb debuts.
So. Of all the question marks in the Boston rotation, one of the few guys you thought could be counted on for durability is looking bad. If he can’t throw many off speed pitches and over relies on the FB he likely gets hammered. If he goes back to a heavy breaking pitch arsenal he’s going to fight IL time all season.
So add one more injury problem to the rotation….
GASoxFan
Also, add another one to the count. Pivetta is still recovering from covid according to the official party line of bs.
BUT. they say pivetta threw a pitch, went to the ground, and left the field with a trainer. That doesn’t sound like ‘building back strength from covid’ to me.
He also didn’t participate in fielding drills later in the day. Again, the official word is that he’s building back from covid so they elected not to have him do so.
Yet he left with a trainer for treatment. Yeah right. Because this front office has been so honest and transparent.
So, that one also bears watching.
Fever Pitch Guy
GASox – Everything I’ve heard is that it’s the higher velocity that causes TJS, not offspeed stuff.
si.com/edge/2016/06/13/fastballs-curveballs-tommy-….
Researchers at the American Sports Medicine Institute (ASMI) in Alabama studied biomechanical data on 452 professional pitchers last year, as well as using 3D motion capture to gather retrospective analysis on 64 pitchers. Their goal was to measure the relationship between fastball velocity and elbow-varus torque in pitchers.
Elbow-varus torque is an internal rotational torque that is often the peak torque placed on the elbow. The UCL and surrounding muscles must support the load. The overall results of the studies “suggested that increased velocity does increase the injury risk,” according to SI.
Only a small percentage — 7.6% — of the variance in load between subjects was explained by velocity. Mechanics and a player’s build also play a role. But for each individual player, velocity accounted for 95.7% in the variance in elbow-varus torque. This backs up the anecdotal evidence that a velocity increase also increases the stress on a pitcher’s elbow.
all in the suit that you wear
Some additional info:
“Bello’s bullpen was full of breaking balls — a pitch he isn’t used to throwing — and began to feel the tightness earlier in the week.”
“Bello feels “much better” and is anxious to test his arm out Monday when he begins throwing again.”
nesn.com/2023/02/red-soxs-brayan-bello-feeling-muc…
Bello normally throws fastballs, sliders and changeups, but was apparently working on a curveball and experienced forearm tightness.
User 1413108128
That was interesting, thanks for the link.
GASoxFan
There’s studies with younger throwers (adolescent, high school, etc) that suggest a higher correlation with the breaking stuff to injuries and strain in the arms.
There’s also imperfect studies at the mlb level that attempts to take fastball speed and compare it to incidence of TJ/elbow strain issues. But, even as it says it finds harder fastball throwers had higher TJ incidence, as well as the strain that the higher torque generates, it disclaims that individual mechanics and body type differences weren’t taken into account.
For my money, I say all the above can be factors. But I’m a firm believer that off speed pitches will do more to harm the elbow for certain body types, and for certain mechanics, than just a higher speed fastball would with that same individual.
Old York
There you go kids, focus on fastballs only, even at age 40. As long as you can throw 120 MPH for 9 innings, you’ll have a long career.
Doug Dueck
That’s right, Mr. Nolan Ryan
martras
Some kids walked across your lawn this morning, didn’t they?
Fever Pitch Guy
York – Your point would have made more sense if you had said 120 MPH for 5 innings.
Expecting starting pitchers to face the same hitters more than twice in a game is cruel and unusual punishment, remember?
Old York
@Fever Pitch Guy
I’m sorry man. Maybe they should only face them once.
whyhayzee
Yankee speak:
“Health is always the question with him. I feel like he’s done everything he needs to this offseason. He’s been around Tampa. He’s been at the complex. He’s getting his work in. Physically, he looks like he’s in a good spot. I think everything we’ve wanted out of him this offseason, he’s answered the bell. He’s ready to go this year. We feel good about the way he’s reported,”
Lots of words with absolutely nothing said. It’s like he’s ventriloquist Doctor Boonedoggle’s dummy.
JoeBrady
It’s like he’s ventriloquist Doctor Boonedoggle’s dummy.
==========================
I thought they were quoting Boone before I saw Blake’s name. It just sounds like someone says just before someone’s arm falls off.
whyhayzee
Joe, if you Google The Athletic Sam Fuller, you can read a cautionary tale of just how hard it is to pitch professionally.
ctguy
“It just sounds like someone says just before someone’s arm falls off”
Kind of like Bello’s “forearm tightness”
Bobby smac9
Caution .Seems like the right thing to do. Bello is a good prospect.
Rsox
Last thing the Sox need is for Bello to go down. Hopefully it’s nothing. I’m excited to see how spending the winter working out and learning from Pedro Martinez turns out
DBH1969
In reference to Bello., you can’t rush prospects through the minors and not expect health issues.
all in the suit that you wear
I don’t think they rushed Bello. He started 2022 in AA and started 7 games and had a 1.69 ERA. He then moved to AAA and started 10 games and had a 2.76 ERA. He was then promoted to the Red Sox. Bello had nothing left to prove in the minor leagues.
GASoxFan
Not only do I also think they didn’t necessarily rush bello, but, the issues he’s having has nothing to do with any speed he moved through the system.
In his starts last season he didn’t say in a ton of innings, and, didn’t go to obscene pitch counts either.
all in the suit that you wear
GA: Agreed.
Bright Side
Severino is a testament to Cashman’s stubbornness and stupidity. When a pitcher is 5’11”, has two great pitches, and an iffy changeup, you move him to the pen. Alas, Severino has struggled against great lineups and has had TJS and shoulder problems. He would have been a stud high leverage reliever.
BenBenBen
This sentence isn’t written in proper English:
“Yankees starter Luis Severino is entering his walk year, so naturally hoping for a strong, and healthy, campaign.”
Since MLBTR sucks at editing. here is how it should be written.
“Yankees starter Luis Severino is entering his walk year, so naturally, he is hoping for a strong and healthy campaign.”