Jose Fernandez experiencing right shoulder stiffness, to be examined in Miami
The baseball world is holding its collective breath on Saturday.
According to Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald, Miami Marlins ace Jose Fernandez has left the team in Atlanta and is heading back to Miami to have his right shoulder examined after experiencing stiffness following Friday’s start against the Braves.
Fernandez was limited to 76 pitches and four innings during Friday’s start, which obviously raised some red flags. Half of those pitches came in Fernandez’s final inning, though, so the thinking was that perhaps his workload was piling up quick than the Marlins wanted. MLB.com’s Frisaro also notes that Fernandez threw 112 pitches in previous start last Sunday, so that would have made some sense.
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Unfortunately, it appears there’s more to it. How much more is not yet known, and the Marlins would prefer to leave the topic alone until they learn more news.
That sounds good in theory, but the speculation has already begun and some form of panic is likely already setting in with Marlins fans. That’s also true with baseball fans who just want to enjoy the incredible talent Fernandez possesses.
Fernandez, who turned 23 on July 31, is coming off Tommy John surgery in May of 2014. Obviously, that’s a major arm injury that sets an ominous tone. It will always come to mind when Fernandez isn’t feeling, especially now his case being so fresh. With this issue being in the shoulder though, it seems more likely this would be an unrelated issue.
Either way, a significant injury would be another huge setback for Fernandez personally and for a Marlins franchise that is relying on him heavily to carry the pitching staff through the rest of the decade. Without him, it doesn’t matter how much money they’re spending, not spending or outright dumping in the fire pit, they’re in big trouble.
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Miami’s 43-67 mark this season is a good indication of just how far off the mark they are, and that’s even with Fernandez involved.
As for Fernandez himself, after debuting on July 2 he fell right back into the groove, which is mighty impressive given his time off. In eight starts, he posted a 2.30 ERA with a 53/10 K/BB ratio across 43 innings.
Special stuff. Here’s hoping we’ll get to see more of it sooner than later.
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