Anthony DeSclafani to DL with “mild” shoulder injury

by — July 23, 2020 in Transactions

Here’s the official announcement.

The Reds are telling the beat writers that the injury isn’t considered long-term so DeSclafani might miss just one start.

First, a bit of translation.

“Right” means it’s DeSclafani’s throwing arm.

“Teres Major” is a small, thick muscle that is part of the throwing action near the rotator cuff but is not part of the rotator cuff group. The teres major connects the shoulder blade and the long arm bone. It produces arm movements and also stabilizes the shoulder joint.

 

“Strain” can mean stretch, but usually means a tear.

“Mild” measures the degree of tear. Mild tears are partial. Severe tears could mean the muscle has ruptured or torn through. DeSclafani’s case does not appear to fall into that category.

Implications for Anthony DeSclafani

You hope it’s a mild injury as the Reds say. From what I’ve read, this is a difficult injury to diagnose. Whenever the shoulder is involved, you worry. Shoulders aren’t as clear cut to diagnose and fix as elbows. One injury can create another one. This muscle is near the rotator cuff. What might seem like one thing now might be something completely different. Or it might develop into something worse once DeSclafani returns to pitching. Obviously, Reds fans are pulling for the best as we find out more.

Implications for the Reds

Tyler Mahle would be the obvious choice to replace DeSclafani in his one or more missed turns. The Reds still have two spots to fill in the 30-man active roster. One is likely Matt Davidson. Matt Wilkes suggests the second could be a pitcher who takes over the swing-long man role Mahle was going to fill. That could be Jose De Leon or Tejay Antone.

[Featured image: https://twitter.com/Reds/status/1175548929338945536]

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Steve Mancuso

Steve Mancuso is a lifelong Reds fan who grew up during the Big Red Machine era. He’s been writing about the Reds for more than ten years. Steve’s fondest memories about the Reds include attending a couple 1975 World Series games, being at Homer Bailey’s second no-hitter and going nuts for Jay Bruce at Clinchmas. Steve was also at all three games of the 2012 NLDS, but it’s too soon to talk about that.

1 Response

  1. Brian D says:
    July 23, 2020 at 8:42 PM

    Really bad news for the Reds and Anthony DeSclafani any way it gets spinned. How does any tear get better quickly? Jose DeLeon get ready to pitch. I’m sure Tyler Mahle is first up, but DeLeon, I sure see in the Reds near future.

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