Jarrod Parker has fracture in right elbow

The Oakland A’s figured the news on Jarrod Parker’s elbow wouldn’t be good. Not after the accounts and images that were shared went Parker went down during his rehab appearance Friday night in Nashville. Unfortunately, those fears were confirmed sometime on Saturday.

Following their 7-2 loss in Seattle late Saturday evening, the A’s announced that Parker had been diagnosed with a fracture to the medial epicondyle area of the humerus bone in his right elbow. The fracture itself will require surgery, ending Parker’s season, but the concerns go much further than that. The A’s are now waiting to learn if Parker’s repaired UCL is still intact, or if he’ll be forced to undergo a third Tommy John surgery.

That’s the bone where one end of the TJ graft is anchored. Unclear if TJ surgery will have to be repeated.

— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) May 10, 2015

Parker has a fractured medial epichondal. Surgery imminent, but first he’ll go home, spend time with family, meet with specialists.

— Jane Lee (@JaneMLB) May 10, 2015

Doctors won’t know until they get in to fix Parker’s fracture whether the Tommy John graft is still intact.

— Jane Lee (@JaneMLB) May 10, 2015

Parker was making his fourth rehab outing for the A’s Triple-A squad in Nashville. It was supposed to be one of his final steps before returning to the A’s rotation, which they’d hoped could happen by the end of May. Everything appeared to be going smoothly right up until that fateful pitch.

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As Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle notes, it’s possible the bone was already weakened by his previous two Tommy John surgeries because that bone serves as the anchor. It’s where the holes are drilled that hold the ligament replacement in place, so it’s a little more vulnerable to fractures like that suffered by Parker.

The injury is also another startling reminder of just how quickly things can change and how much these athletes are putting their bodies through in order to compete. Sometimes, it’s just too much. The human body simply can’t keep up or hold up.

With that said, it’s far too early to right Parker off. But there’s no doubt he’ll have a lot to overcome physically and mentally to make it back. If a third Tommy John surgery is required, the odds will get ever longer.