Bryson Has Surgey, Player To Be Named Update

Well, some this is not a good way to start the offseason:

Rob Bryson likely out all of next year with a torn labrum

Here is basically the important part of that article:

As for the rest of Bryson's year, he joined Cleveland's low Class A team, Lake County (Ohio). He pitched 121¼3 innings in seven games and was diagnosed with a torn labrum. He will have surgery Wednesday.

Bryson spent time on the disabled list in August, rehabilitating the arm, but did pitch as late as Aug. 29, striking out two in one inning.

"My first day back on the mound everything felt fine," Bryson said. "But in the days after that, I felt pretty sore."

The surgery will keep Bryson off the mound for six to nine months or possibly more. Bryson said that a labrum tear is "something that just happens over time," and that it's torn enough to where it's become painful.

"I just want to get it taken care of as soon as possible," Bryson said about next week's surgery. "That way, I can recover as soon as possible. They told me rehab will be six to nine months. But pitching competitively, I probably will not be back on the mound in a game situation for at least a year."

Ouch.

Gotta say the Indians may have some egg on their face with this one. Knowing the severity of the injury and risk involved, I am not sure I understand what the reasoning was behind rushing him back to pitch a few innings at the end of this season after he initially came down with the injury in late July. And even Bryson was notably concerned when they were initially messing around with bringing him back. From an article on him in late August:

...when talking to him this past Thursday he was relieved the injury was not as bad as he thought. Although he was sort of surprised he has not just been shutdown for the last few weeks of the season, Bryson says he is excited to get back out on the mound and start competing again.

In a nutshell when I said "surprised" it was a nicer way of saying he was a little frustrated, concerned, and at a loss for words why he was being rushed back.

Granted, this may have been normal procedure to shut a guy down when it is just a partial tear like it was originally diagnosed. So it could have happened to any team I guess. And in no way should Shapiro be raked over the coals for acquiring him. He was healthy when we traded for him, and you can't predict injuries. It is unfortunate, but there is no one to blame here except a bout of bad luck for Bryson and the Indians and maybe to some degree the Indians medical staff and/or decision makers for forcing him back a little too soon.

In any case, Bryson’s 2009 season is all but wiped out already, and given the nature of the injury his career has now been put in serious jeopardy. Torn labrum and rotator cuff injuries are just not something many, if any, pitchers came back from 100%.

That Player To Be Named

Looks like we will finally see the end of all the speculation with the player to be named in the Sabathia trade as reportedly the deadline for the Indians to complete the trade and pick the player is this coming Monday October 7th.

This is one of the craziest deals I can ever remember, and it will be very interesting to see who ultimately is the player to be named. All along Taylor Green and Michael Brantley have been the two players said to be on the short list the Indians were considering, and some speculation has mentioned players like Lucroy, Escobar, Cain, Salome, and so on. But, from a tip I received on Thursday a member of the Brewers front office has said that Escobar is NOT available. Another source said that the Indians have indeed decided on Brantley, but they are currently going over his medical and making sure he is sound before making the official announcement on Monday.

Stay tuned. We’ll see how this shakes out, and there are bound to be yet more twists in this ongoing saga over the weekend.

By the way, if Escobar truly is off the table, I want Brantley.

Posted in: Rob Bryson