By Matt Snyder Braves starting pitcher Tommy Hanson hasn't pitched since August 6, as he's been on the 15-day disabled list with a shoulder injury. He was shut down during a recent bullpen session due to discomfort and now he's reportedly heading back to Atlanta to have another checkup and an MRI on that balky shoulder. Uh oh.
Still, manager Fredi Gonzalez doesn't sound worried that it's anything more than tendinitis acting up again.
“They think maybe we haven’t given it enough time, maybe he needs a little bit more rest,” Gonzalez said (ajc.com). “The test before showed nothing, just showed a little tendinitis. But sometimes you want something to happen quickly and it takes a little longer.”
The larger concern is that Hanson's discomfort arose after only throwing nine pitches this past Monday. He was expected to start a rehab stint Saturday, but that has been canceled. So even if there's nothing structurally wrong with his shoulder, it's likely going to be a lot longer before he's back on the hill.
Hanson, 24, is 11-7 with a 3.60 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 142 strikeouts in 130 innings this season. When healthy, he's one of the best pitchers on the staff. Expect the Braves to be very cautious with their future ace, as they have an abundance of starting pitching and appear pretty easily locked in to the NL Wild Card spot.
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