Insult, meet injury.
As if the O’s stringing together another extended losing streak (four games as of this morning) wasn’t bad enough, last night the news surfaced that top prospect Dylan Bundy had experienced another setback in his throwing progression.
Back in April, Bundy saw Dr. James Andrews after experiencing soreness in his right forearm, and the hearts of O’s fans everywhere dropped. However, instead of recommending Tommy John surgery, Andrews instead gave Bundy a platelet-rich plasma injection and prescribed six weeks of rest.
Bundy rested for the six weeks, and had recently resumed his throwing program. Alas, after moving to 120 feet and appearing on the verge of taking the mound again, per Roch Kubatko, the soreness has resurfaced.
Roch says that Bundy will see team orthopedist Dr. James Wilckens today, and will also be seen by Andrews again.
Just wonderful.
Back in April, I wrote that I wouldn’t have been all that distraught if Bundy had undergone the surgery. Now it appears as though all the PRP injection did was delay the inevitable for two months (and therefore push Bundy’s timetable of returning to the field back two months).
Complicating matters, though, is that Bundy’s MRI in April showed no structural damage to his elbow. My understanding of Tommy John surgery is that it repairs/replaces a damaged Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL). If Bundy’s UCL is fine, will TJ even help?
At this point, who knows when we’ll ever see Dylan Bundy pitching in Baltimore again? Here’s hoping the kid gets some answers today, but things aren’t looking very promising at the moment. For a team that is absolutely desperate for pitching, the news just keeps getting worse.
One Response
Strongly AGREE – One point of correction – in light of these developements and the long term implications, I don’t believe he is the O’s top prospect anymore. Sadly he may wind up on the long listed heap of 1st round O’s busts. I certainly hope that will NOT be the case!