Cubs RP Hunter Harvey Suffers Stress Reaction Near Triceps, Shut Down 4 More Weeks
It seems like not a day goes by without news of another Cubs pitching injury, or re-injury as the case may be. It’s like a hat on a hat, except the hats are physical maladies. Righty reliever Hunter Harvey has been out since April 9 due to inflammation in his right triceps, and he’ll be shut down for at least another four weeks after a recurrence of that issue. He experienced abnormal soreness following his bullpen on Thursday, and a subsequent MRI revealed a stress reaction in the triceps area.
Stress reactions are a pre-fracture injury caused by overuse, essentially “hot spots” of bone marrow edema and microscopic damage. They often go undiagnosed because they are not often picked up by standard imaging techniques, which can lead to further damage. That can lead to frustration in athletes, trainers, and coaching staffs because there is seemingly nothing wrong despite repeated claims of discomfort.
I would imagine many of you first became aware of these types of injuries when it was revealed that Yu Darvish had been dealing with a stress reaction in his right elbow for much of the 2018 season. While I don’t think his diagnosis necessarily spurred more due diligence across the sport, I have seen more such diagnoses with Cubs players — like Brandon Morrow, Brennen Davis, and Ben Brown — in the time since.
At least two of those players were considered to be injury-prone, and the same thing can be said about Harvey. He’s got a blazing fastball, but there were serious concerns about his ability to stay healthy. He pitched just under 11 innings for the Royals last season and logged only four innings in as many appearances for the Cubs before going down. His active tenure on the North Side was so brief that the AP doesn’t even have a photo of him in his current uniform.
By my count, he’d had 12 stints on the IL in his career prior to signing with the Cubs. The ironic part of all this is that the main reason he went against his preference to avoid playing in a big city was the Cubs’ pitch to him about their ability to keep guys off the IL. He wasn’t even really considering them until a phone call with pitching coach Tommy Hottovy and VP of pitching Tyler Zombro changed his mind.
‘‘I was mesmerized by it,’’ Harvey said about their recruitment of him. ‘‘They were able to keep players healthy, and it really grabbed my attention because that’s kind of one thing I’ve been battling.’’
Even as someone who fully understands that most of these injuries are unavoidable pitfalls of a sport that requires full-intent overhand throwing, I have to say that quote is not aging well. All will be forgotten if Harvey comes back and shoves in the second half, but history tells us that’s anything but a guarantee. The only good thing about all of this is that the pending returns of Harvey, Caleb Thielbar, Justin Steele, Matthew Boyd, and more will be like acquiring players in trades that cost nothing in return.
Ed. note: Thielbar threw a bullpen on Friday and he’ll throw a touch-and-feel on Sunday before moving to live BP in Atlanta. Provided all goes well with those efforts, he should be sent out on a rehab assignment around when the Cubs play the White Sox next week.
