Updating the shoulder injuries

Updates are in today for pitcher John Smoltz and catcher Jorge Posada. At the moment, both injuries don’t sound to severe, which is good news for both players, teams, and the fans of them. Lets look at the updates.

Atlanta Braves P John Smoltz: He was placed on the disabled list today, no surprise there. The good news is that he has been diagnosed with a severely inflamed biceps tendon and inflammation in his rotator cuff. Well thats not really good news, but its better then the possible alternatives. Smoltz was diagnosed by the best in the biz, Dr. James Andrews and his prescription? Rest and rehab until he is completely pain free. The bad news? That could mean an indefinite stay on the DL, there’s currently no timetable on his return. It will all depend on how the now 40 year old, Smoltz’s body can respond to the time off and exercises. Tom Glavine was activated from the DL today, and will replace Smoltz in the rotation.

New York Yankees C Jorge Posada: Well he was put on the DL over the weekend, his return is also undetermined. The only update coming out from the Yankees, continued to raise concern in my eyes. ESPN is reporting that the injury is not season-ending, which is good. Posada met with Dr. Andrews as well, BUT he’s going for another opinion. The results of his examination were being sent to the Cincinnati Reds team physician, Dr. Timothy Kremchek. “He had a good meeting with Andrews. The films are being sent to Kremchek and so we’ll wait for that and we’ll go from there,” manager Joe Girardi said.

Girardi, himself is currently optimistic the injury will not be season ending, and is just that a strained shoulder. Posada is staying away from any guessing, an obvious sign he’s in pain and doesn’t know what to believe. “Till all the doctors weigh in, I’m not going to guess and speculate. When they give me concrete information I’ll be sure to share it,” Posada said through club spokesman Jason Zillo. The results from Kremchek’s examination will take a few days.

Posada could still be out anywhere from 2 week to the entire season. For just rest and rehab, it could take around 2 weeks. If there happens to be surgery, he could easily be out 4-6 weeks, or possibly the season. Will Carroll of Baseball Prospect, an injury expert, suspects rest and rehab itself thou could take up to 30 days for this injury. If it’s 4 weeks or more the Yankees and Brian Cashman would need to look for catching assistance. SO, who is out there? Possibilities include, Mike DiFelice, Sal Fasano, Mike Piazza, Doug Mirabelli and Damian Miller. No great options, but could easily be serviceable if Posada is out in the 4-6 week period. The Yankees currently, have no minor leaguers that could fill the void, as all prospects are in A ball.

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Tags: Atlanta Braves, MLB, New York Yankees