Apparently coconuts and palm trees were the magical cure for Dylan Bundy’s elbow stiffness, and helped him avoid the 14-month shutdown that comes with Tommy John surgery.
After scaring the entire Orioles organization half to death with continued forearm pain and a trip to see Doctor James Andrews, the Orioles’ number one prospect has been cleared to resume throwing after a PRP injection and prescribed six-week resting period.
Said resting period took place in Sarasota, FL, where Dylan was surrounded by crystal clear water and white powdery beaches. I think I am going to have to look into such a prescription with my doctor.
Throughout Spring Training, the thought of having both Bundy and Gausman in the Orioles starting five had danced in the heads of Bird fans, but the dream quickly turned into hysteria when the news of Bundy’s scheduled visit to Dr. Andrews hit Twitter.
I have to admit; when I first heard the news I immediately assumed the worst…
Tommy John’s and no Dylan Bundy until next year.
Dr. Andrews is the doctor athletes see to get what is sure to be season ending surgery. The name “Dr. Andrews” may sound familiar because he is the one who rebuilt Adrian Peterson’s knee and recently patched up that RGIII guy. It is never a good thing when you hear a player is headed to see Dr. Andrews, but for once, James didn’t have to turn to the knife.
Dylan was given a plasma injection into his elbow to help with the inflammation – a procedure that had in the past proven at times to be nothing but a delay for surgery – and was told to rest for six weeks.
So, Bundy and all of Birdland waited, until finally the news broke this past Monday that Dylan was cleared to resume throwing. I just about jumped out of my seat when I saw MASN’s Roch Kubatko tweet the great news!
Not only was it exciting that we wouldn’t have to wait an entire year to see more of what our number one prospect is made of, but the O’s wouldn’t have to worry about whether Tommy John’s would derail Bundy’s arm.
Though Dylan isn’t completely out of the woods yet, when he begins throwing again we will see if he is completely pain free. If Bundy can throw freely then O’s fans can exhale as we watch and wait as Dylan plays catch-up with the rest of the Orioles starters.
Hopefully with the return of the Orioles future ace, and the success of Kevin Gausman, there won’t be too much pressure to buy an overpriced arm. Not saying that the Orioles should rely on Bundy putting it all together, but it may lessen the need.
Currently, we are a long ways away from seeing Bundy back in an Orioles uniform, but it is certainly better than having to wait until 2014 to see what this kid has to offer.
