UTK 7/21/20
Oblique Issues,
Since “Summer Camp” started, there’s been a lot of discussion here about lower back and oblique injuries. I’ve talked about why this is, but the simple fact is that not only does this injury not have to take as long to heal up, it doesn’t have to happen at all. I went to Sarah Howard, who can be found at @lamobilitycoach on the socials, and asked her for her take on oblique strains. I’ll quote the whole response:
Oblique injury. 2 words no baseball player wants to hear, yet every season it’s like Oprah is out there, saying ‘You get an oblique injury. You get an oblique injury.’
Core strength is imperative for baseball players and off season training focuses on doing just that. Yet here is the disconnect. Every other part of your body that you train gets recovery work done to it, right? Think of your massages, acupuncture, cupping, etc. I bet little, if any, time is spent on your obliques. That is the problem. Strength without suppleness is a recipe for disaster (aka oblique injury).
The solution isn’t expensive and it isn’t hard to get. It’s a Coregeous ball. Every one of my baseball players spends quality time laying with the Coregeous ball under their core, especially obliques. This pliable, air filled ball is gentle on your organs and massages the abdominal area, leaving your obliques hydrated and supple.
Doesn’t spending 20 min or so a day on the Coregeous ball sound better than weeks or months on the IL?
Bonus - doing this will also help relieve back stiffness. When my athletes complain of stiffness/discomfort in their low back, laying with the Coregeous ball under their abdominal area is my go to move to help relive their pain. Why? Because nothing in the body works separately and the back is intimately connected with the tissue in the front of the body.
Sarah does great work and works with a lot of pitchers, including top ones like Jack Flaherty.
Be sure to check out more of her work, especially those of you that work with baseball players. We’ll see less of her clients in this column and hopefully less oblique strains overall. It’s possible to get to zero, but that’s a story for another day. Right now, let’s get to the injuries:
Jean Segura 3B PHI (possible fractured finger)
Jean Segura had one of those common but dangerous occurrences on Monday night, hit in the finger by a pitch. It’s uncommon, but happens and can result in fractures. It’s also not as easy to protect as the back of the hand, but there are gloves out there that help while maintaining the freedom and grip needed. The odd thing about Segura is that we don’t know whether the finger is fractured because of COVID. Segura doesn’t have it, but restrictions at the stadium meant the X-Ray Tech that’s normally on duty wasn’t there.
I asked MLB about it and while they didn’t answer the question directly, an MLB source confirmed that the normal medical personnel will be at the park on game days. There had been some question about that, both for cost and isolation, but it’s more reasonable to keep players from going to a hospital or care center and those costs are usually absorbed by a sponsor.
On Segura, who’s shifting to third base this season, a fracture would mean some missed time. It could be as little as a few days or as much as six weeks, depending on the location and function of the finger. We should know more today, but the Phillies have Neil Walker and Alec Bohm who could step in if Segura is out.
Aroldis Chapman RP NYY (infection)
Aroldis Chapman isn’t likely to make it back to the Yankees by Opening Day, nor is he completely ready to go. He’s COVID positive, but has had only limited and mild symptoms, according to the team. He has to provide two negative tests before he can return to working with the team, though he’s being monitored on the outside. It shouldn’t take much to get him going again and they don’t need to build up stamina. Chapman is not someone that has an issue with recovery either, even as he’s aged. He’s essentially the exception to every rule, but COVID’s rules are new and we’ll see how he deals with this. It might be the only thing that can slow him.
Masahiro Tanaka SP NYY (concussion)
Everything has gone as well as possible for Masahiro Tanaka, but he hasn’t yet cleared the final stage of the concussion protocol. Not because he couldn’t; he just hasn’t. There’s no need until he’s ready to get in games and the time lost after being hit in the head by a comebacker just hasn’t given him enough time to be ready. He’s likely not headed to the injury list, though that’s still an option.
The Yanks plan for Tanaka to make two sim game starts, including one today (Tuesday) and then another on Sunday to get him back in the five-day rotation. That would put him on track for a Friday debut with the team. There’s no reason to think that schedule is an issue, or that Tanaka can’t build up to what he needs to go a starter’s number of innings, whatever that is. Let’s call it an easy five or six. He does still have to clear the final stage of the protocol, but Tanaka hasn’t reported any symptoms in over a week.
AJ Puk SP OAK (strained shoulder)
A.J. Puk is headed not only to the DL, but to see Dr. Neal ElAttrache after shoulder pain continued to develop with throwing. Puk had issues in the back of his shoulder during the spring, but was throwing well during the pause. The pain returned and for now, he’s out of the Athletics rotation, replaced by Daniel Mengden. The location of the pain isn’t a positive indicator for Puk, nor is the recurrence. Puk had Tommy John surgery (also with ElAttrache) in 2018 and seeing problems develop down the kinetic chain is another major negative.
Puk is tall, lanky, and throws in the upper 90s, but he does have a solid basis of coaching going well back into his youth and has never had a huge workload. Add in a very solid Oakland medical staff and this is one of those where there’s definite positives and negatives to the profile, but the continued injuries and lack of availability certainly are problematic. We’ll wait to see what the root cause is and whether the damage will force another surgery.
Austin Barnes C LAD (bruised hand)
Austin Barnes did get a X-ray and his hand is just bruised, not broken. I still don’t see why players refuse to wear padded or protective gloves to prevent this kind of injury, but until they do, I’ll write about it. It’s a simple, painful bruise for Barnes. The Dodgers think he’ll be able to get some swings in ahead of Opening Day - theirs is Thursday - and they’ll have a good read on him. Barnes and Will Smith will be a semi-traditional catcher platoon this year, but can play against both if needed, so this shouldn’t be an issue for the team if either does miss time.
Jose Quintana SP CHC (lacerated thumb)
Just a couple weeks ago, Jose Quintana’s season was in question. Surgery on his lacerated thumb went well and here we are, talking about how soon he’ll be back. The answer seems to be, very soon. He’s going to be cleared to throw full-go and to get on a mound, meaning he could be back in as little as ten days. The Cubs will have to ramp up his workload or backstop him, likely with Alec Mills, who will take the starts in his absence. Again, the 30-man roster is going to allow for some creative pitching usage for those willing to be creative.
Quintana’s shown no issues in his return, but he’s also not been throwing full go. Cubs pitchers all the way back to Mordecai Brown know that grip can do a lot to pitches, so the Cubs will be watching his velocity, spin, and movement closely. There’s a chance we see a positive change as well! A source tells me his grip strength is near normal, so they don’t expect to see very many changes on the mound.
Quick Cuts:
Jordan Hicks was shifted to the restricted list. This is merely procedural, as he’s already opted out due to a pre-existing condition. There’s still no clarity on if there will be a fall/instructs period, so we may not see Hicks or those like him until next February … Xander Bogaerts has some hamstring tightness, but left Sunday’s game as a precaution. The Sox think he’ll be ready for Opening Day, but this bares watching. It’s a big drop-off to Jose Peraza … Cole Hamels is throwing, but a source tells me he’s “not close to game ready.” The Braves will continue to rehab him in hopes he can take at least some innings from their young starters. The shortened season means no one should be too overexposed, but the ‘sprint’ nature of the season makes depth a nice luxury … Hunter Harvey is going to miss the start of the season with the dreaded “dead arm.” This is something we should discuss in the near future, but should never occur … Ryan Braun’s “general soreness” was actually a back and oblique strain. Not quite general, but valid when there’s multiple injuries. He’s very iffy for Opening Day, even as a DH … As expected, Evan Longoria will start the year on the DL with back issues. Anthony Rizzo may avoid it, but he’s not back to 100 percent yet … We learned this week that the COVID IL is also retroactive, making it the same as any other injured list. It removes the player from the roster and can be backdated to the first positive test, though it’s unclear if that will carry over into the season or whether it will go to the normal five days …. Tomorrow, I’ll revisit the list of the riskiest players and make some sure to be wrong predictions about the short season.