Oakland Athletics Pitcher Jarrod Parker Suffers Lateral Elbow Impingement in Spring Training
It’s been two years since Oakland Athletics’ starter Jarrod Parker last pitched in the big leagues, and it seems as if his return to the O.Co Coliseum will be delayed even further.
On Thursday, Parker came off the field in pain after suffering a lateral elbow impingement while facing live batters for the first time. He only threw 12 pitches before he was forced to leave the field. The A’s athletic trainers are optimistic, but are still awaiting the results of an MRI.
Jarrod Parker, facing hitters for the first time this spring, just came off the mound yelling in pain after throwing a pitch. #Athletics
— Matt Kawahara (@matthewkawahara) March 10, 2016
A's medical staff confident about Parker@in part because the injury is on opposite (outside) side of the elbow that caused all the concern.
— John Shea (@JohnSheaHey) March 10, 2016
The Athletics had already discussed moving Parker to the bullpen, given his injury history.
While a timetable for Parker’s return has yet to be released, it seems as though he’s escaped a career-ending injury – something many initially feared after seeing him walk off the field on Thursday. Athletic trainer Nick Paparesta shared the following quote with reporter John Hickey:
"“I think you’ve all seen that video from Nashville last year. When the pitch occurred, and we saw his initial reaction to it, I think obviously we felt the same thing. Afterwards, spending some time talking to him, he was able to move the elbow back and was able to do something. It did not appear to be as serious as that issue. We are pretty optimistic that things are going to go well.”"
As a fan, it’s hard to see Parker suffer yet another setback. It’s impossible to imagine how frustrating it must be for him and the rest of the organization, after all of the time and effort he’s put in to his return to the big leagues.
The good news is that it sounds as though the medical staff is far more hopeful about Parker’s return from this injury than they were when he suffered an elbow fracture while pitching for the Triple-A Sounds last May. Any setback is a cause for concern, but hopefully this is a comparatively minor bump in his return to the majors.