Bronson Arroyo expected to miss only a month after initial MRI was misread
After some confusion, Bronson Arroyo has been diagnosed with partial rotator cuff tendon tears. He was originally diagnosed with a severe rotator cuff tear after an MRI was misread.
By
Mike Axisa
•
2 min read
The news has gone from bad to better for veteran right-hander Bronson Arroyo, who is in camp with the Nationals as a non-roster player after spending last season rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.
Earlier this week Arroyo was diagnosed with a severe rotator cuff tear that was likely going to end his career. The 39-year-old would spend the 2016 season rehabbing, and if he wanted to come back in 2017, he would have to try to do so as a 40-year-old coming off two major arm injuries.
On Friday though, word came down Arroyo's injury was not as severe as originally believed. Amazingly, the MRI was read incorrectly, and there was no tear in his rotator cuff.
Great news on Bronson Arroyo, per source. Doctor misread MRI. Rotator cuff OK. Issue is bursa sac inflammation. Will be down 7 to 10 days.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) March 18, 2016
Arroyo said first reading was by non-baseball doc. And he still felt strength in some positions but pain in shoulder in others.
— James Wagner (@JamesWagnerWP) March 19, 2016
That is some turn of events. Arroyo went from facing a career-ending shoulder tear to a little inflammation that would sidelined him a week or too. That's going from the worst case scenario to the best case scenario in the matter of a day or two.
The Nationals, however, did not agree with new diagnosis. The team said they found something different when they reviewed Arroyo's test results.
#Nats say the reports about Arroyo "are not consistent" with what their actual findings are. Meeting with Arroyo, doctors tomorrow.
— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) March 19, 2016
On Saturday, Arroyo finally received a final diagnosis. The injury is not as bad as initially believed nor is it as good as simple inflammation. He has some partial tears in his rotator cuff tendon and will miss about a month rehabbing:
Mike Rizzo says Bronson Arroyo has partial tears of the rotator cuff tendon and there is extreme inflammation. Shut down 10-14 days.
— Dan Kolko (@masnKolko) March 19, 2016
All in all, Nats expect Arroyo to need 4-6 wks of rehab. Rest, then shoulder strengthening, then throwing. After all that, they'll evaluate
— Dan Kolko (@masnKolko) March 19, 2016
All things considered, that's not too bad. Missing a month is unfortunate, especially since it takes Arroyo out of the running for a rotation spot, but at least he'll be able to resume his career relatively soon.
The Nationals figure to open the season with young right-hander Joe Ross as their No. 5 starter now that Arroyo is out. Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, and Tanner Roark will occupy the top four rotation spots.
Arroyo had a 4.08 ERA (92 ERA+) in 14 starts and 86 innings with the Diamondbacks in 2014 before blowing out his elbow and needing Tommy John surgery. He signed with the Nationals this winter in part due to his relationship with Dusty Baker, who was his manager all those years with the Reds.
