Report: There’s a dispute over Bronson Arroyo’s shoulder MRI
What a weird 48 hours this has been for Bronson Arroyo.
On Wednesday, it appeared the 39-year-old pitcher’s career might be over when MLB Network’s Peter Gammons first reported that Arroyo had been diagnosed with an 80 percent tear of the rotator cuff in his right shoulder. Come Friday though, things looked much more promising after FOX Sports’ reported a doctor had misread Arroyo’s MRI.
Based on Rosenthal’s report, Arroyo’s jouney’s was likely to continue in two weeks time, However, there’s now a third report from MASN’s Mark Zuckerman that says the Nationals have refuted Rosenthal’s report, and will discuss Arroyo’s future with him on Saturday.
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“The report out there is not consistent with what our team doctors are saying,” a club spokesman said following a 12-7 victory over the Mets at Tradition Field.
The Nationals plan to meet with Arroyo on Saturday, compare the MRI they took with one taken by the Diamondbacks two years ago when he suffered a minor rotator cuff tear while pitching for Arizona and collectively decide a course of action from there.
Two days and three reports later, we’re pretty much back to square one. We know there’s an issue with Arroyo’s shoulder, and again it doesn’t sound as promising as all sides had hoped. But perhaps it won’t be as bad as initially reported either.
As James Wagner of the Washington Post tells us though, the initial diagnosis actually came from a non-baseball doctor. That might explain the confusion somewhat, or perhaps this is as simple as a miscommunication on one level that trickled down. Whatever the case is, we should know for sure on Saturday. But all of this really highlights how delicate the process can be and how much pressure doctors and reporters are constantly under to always be right.
One little detail can set a lot of things in motion, including the emotions of those involved.
As for what a best-case scenario would truly mean for Arroyo’s future, the injury would obviously set him back and squash any hope of making Washington’s opening day roster. In all honesty though, he was probably a long shot to begin with, but manager Dusty Baker does value Arroyo’s leadership and workhorse mentality from their days together in Cincinnati. If an opening had popped up, Arroyo would have been in that discussion.
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As it stands now, there are no concrete answers. Considering the circumstances though, if Arroyo ends up cleared in two weeks or even two months and has to accept a long stint in minors, that wouldn’t be the worst result.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
