Red Sox Avoid Worst-Case Scenario With Steven Wright's Elbow
By Scott Rogust
The Boston Red Sox pitching rotation and bullpen has been decimated throughout the 2019 season. However, they got some good news on Wednesday.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora announced that knuckleballer Steven Wright met with Dr. James Andrews regarding his right elbow injury on Wednesday, and amid fear of potentially having to undergo Tommy John surgery, Andrews put that to rest. Instead, he opted to give Wright a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection on Wednesday.
After meeting with Dr. James Andrews, #RedSox knuckleballer Steven Wright got a PRP injection in his elbow, avoiding the dreaded Tommy John surgery: https://t.co/kb8p1QDVZZ
— Jason Kates (@Jason_Kates) August 7, 2019
Wright had been out of action since June 14 with a contusion to his right big toe, but experienced some elbow discomfort as well.
In regards to the PRP injection, it's a far-less-lengthy recovery period than Tommy John, which would knock out an athlete for a full calendar year. Instead, Wright will need to rest for the next six weeks before having another doctor's visit, per Rob Bradford of WEEI.
No Tommy John surgery for Steven Wright https://t.co/qtZVVWAEty pic.twitter.com/2YlerNEfjO
— WEEI (@WEEI) August 7, 2019
Wright has not played much this season due to serving an 80-game suspension for a performance enhancing drug violation. He recorded a 8.53 ERA, along with five strikeouts and four walks in 6.2 innings of work.
While Wright will be sidelined for an additions six weeks-plus, at least it won't be the year-long TJ recovery. That's a fine consolation for Red Sox Nation.