Trevor Rosenthal considering surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome

The news just keeps getting worse for the Oakland A’s when it comes to Trevor Rosenthal. He had been sidelined just before the start of the regular season due to a sore shoulder, necessitating a visit to noted vascular surgeon Dr. Gregory Pearl. As his specialty is treating thoracic outlet syndrome, this was not the type of news that the A’s wanted.

And it just keeps getting worse. Rosenthal is now considering having surgery, which would sideline him for at least 12 weeks.

Trevor Rosenthal news keeps getting worse for Oakland A’s

In theory, Rosenthal would be back for the stretch run as the 12 week time frame would lead to a return sometime in August. But that is the best case scenario. It is entirely possible that the A’s will be paying Rosenthal $11 million to never throw a pitch for them.

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It is also worth noting that this is not the first major procedure he would undergo. Rosenthal had Tommy John surgery in2017, missing the entire 2018 campaign due to his recovery. The track record of pitchers who have had both surgeries, particularly in a short time frame, is not overly promising. Just think of Matt Harvey.

This is certainly a disappointing result for Oakland. They had been hoping that Rosenthal would continue their run of shutdown closers, particularly in the wake of his stellar 2020 campaign. Although he had just 23.2 innings due to the shortened campaign, he posted a 1.90 ERA and a 0.845 WHiP, striking out 38 batters.

But it does say something that the Padres, who had gone out and hoarded all the pitching they could, did not make him an offer this offseason. One could understand the gamble for Oakland; Rosenthal had an incredible season and the A’s signed him at a relative discount. However, this has the potential to end badly.

The Oakland A’s have received more bad news about Trevor Rosenthal. It is now a matter of whether or not he decides to go under the knife.