Baltimore Orioles right-hander Kyle Bradish broke out big time in 2023.
He was one of the main reasons his team won 101 games in the regular season, going 12-7 with a 2.83 ERA in 168.2 innings of work.
Bradish did that on the strength of a really good slider that consistently earned whiffs and soft contact.
However, the stress on his arm came with a price.
It was reported on Thursday, in the week in which the O’s opened camp, that he is nursing a strained UCL.
Any time the elbow ligament is compromised, alarms go off.
For now, the Orioles are calling it a strain, which is much better than a tear, but the fact remains that they have shut down Bradish and ruled him out for the start of the season.
Seeing how important Bradish is for the present and future of the Orioles organization, fans are understandably worried.
Some of them correctly identified that UCL strains are often precursors to Tommy John surgery.
That is a major red flag and the end result is often TJ surgery. Hopefully that won’t be the case with Bradish.
— Michael Dorbuck (@mikedorb1) February 15, 2024
WOWWWWW that’s unexpected. 4th in last years cy young voting.
— allStar (@allStar725) February 15, 2024
For a team that just acquired Corbin Burnes to solidify the rotation, losing Bradish for an extended period of time definitely hurts.
There is a chance he avoids the long-term surgery and is ready to pitch in the O’s rotation at some point in the first half, but nobody knows at this point.
He received a PRP shot to speed up the healing process, and will slowly ramp up to see if his UCL can hold.
Orioles fans are obviously bummed out and disappointed.
Prolly gonna be out for half the season at least if he avoids TJ surgery. Super bad luck
— . (@Vndr3w_) February 15, 2024
Ugh
— Phil Cappalonga (@capps68) February 15, 2024
Now, fans are stuck waiting for any sort of update on this concerning situation.
The post Fans React To Today’s Kyle Bradish Injury News appeared first on The Cold Wire.