Under The Knife 7/18/24
Back To The Grind
Before we jump back into the injuries (and re-starting the “second half” … which should be post-break if we’re precise) I’ll point you to a podcast I did with longtime friend of the site Jason Snell. His Downstream is regularly a great listen and this week we did a bit over an hour talking about streaming, sports, and the crazy directions the business of both is going right now. There’s very little baseball, but the whole ecosystem will affect how baseball is consumed over the next decade. Give it a listen and subscribe if that’s your sort of thing. For now, on to the injuries:
LUCAS GIOLITO, SP BOS (sprained elbow/rehab)
The promise of augmented reconstruction of joints is the quicker rehab times. Once the anchors set - a matter of weeks - the ligament is in theory fully backstopped by the material, while the ligament itself heals and then begins the ligamentization process. Early in the process with athletes on time-crunches — like graduating high school — there was more pushing the envelope. Getting to play that senior season was worth the risk. For Lucas Giolito and the Red Sox, is it?
While the Sox have been a better team than expected, having Giolito in the rotation would certainly make them much more formidable in the playoffs. Giolito kind of suggested he wanted to come back this season, while the Sox have consistently said “nope.” The downside here is that we won’t know why Giolito could have been ready, just when he is. There’s good guesses we can make depending on what he can do, but we probably won’t get to see full-go pens and certainly nothing like a rehab start because there’s simply no reason. But if he completes the rehab process and goes on hold, getting ready for a “normal” off-season, that’s certainly an indication that we could push this further than any team has so far.
I don’t mean to compare anyone to Aaron Rodgers, but Rodgers’ attention seeking behavior as he said he was pushing for an in-season return set back some advanced techniques and even the tightrope surgery itself. Giolito certainly isn’t doing that; indeed, it could be the opposite. We know this surgery works and could on a shorter timeline, with the right risk tolerances. Shortening the elbow reconstruction timeline by weeks is important, but months? Seeing him throwing here in July after March surgery is a good sign and my hope is that Giolito shows more and gives us an idea where this could go.
JT REALMUTO, C PHI (torn meniscus/rehab)
The Phillies have enough of a lead to be smart with JT Realmuto’s return from knee surgery, but not enough to be conservative. This is Bryce Harper’s team and playing through his elbow issues and like his beard is ablaze when he’s healthy does have a cultural effect. At the same time, the Phillies medical staff has a lot of trust in that locker room for all the work they’ve done and continue to do.
Which puts Realmuto and Rob Thomson in an interesting spot. No one would blink if Realmuto were back on day one back from the break, but it’s not going to create much of an issue if they wait until Monday either. There’s really not stadiums where teams avoid using players any more, so the fact that the Phils are on the road shouldn’t change things either.
Realmuto had a meniscus trim on June 12 and at just over a month out, he’s well within the normal time frame, especially if we add a bit for him being a catcher. Once he’s back, he should have no issues or immediate recurrences, though this can be a progressive issue and one that doesn’t necessarily clear things up. That meniscus isn’t whole, so neither is the knee. That’s par for an age-33 catcher, but Realmuto should continue to be a big part of this team going forward.
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