Bryce Harper Thumb Injury Could Be Serious, Nationals Wait on Specialist: The Washington Nationals will lose Bryce Harper for at least 15 days, but a thumb injury could be much worse. Given the mechanism of injury and his size, the biggest concern was that hed done exactly what Josh Hamilton had, tearing a ligament. For now, the injury is listed as a bruise, and the disabled-list move was made as a precaution, according to Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post. Harper will see a hand specialist in the next few days to confirm the diagnosis. It may be that there is enough swelling to make a clear diagnosis impossible at this time. The current feeling is that theres a bruise in the area of the base of the thumb, but sources tell me that the thumb is unstable and necessitated the use of a brace to protect and stabilize the area, as seen in the dugout on Saturday. Harper was injured in much the same way we have seen with this type of injury previously, on a head-first slide into a base. Harper showed immediate pain and was taken for X-rays. The Nationals and Harper didnt feel the injury was serious at that point, but the continued pain, swelling and instability have led to further concern. Studies done in the past have shown that head-first slides are, on the whole, no more dangerous than foot-first slides. While more injuries occur with head-first slides, they tend to be minor, like broken fingers and bruises, while foot-first slides lead to more severe fractures and sprains. Given the injuries to big, athletic players like Hamilton and Harper, their elite skills may tip that balance. Harper is expected to see Dr. Thomas Graham at the Cleveland Clinic in the next few days. Graham is considered one of the top hand specialists in sport. In recent years, he has worked on Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia and others with similar issues. While Graham is a surgeon, dont read any more into this for Harper than it is. Its simply a top player going to a top specialist rather than any solid indication of a more major issue. If surgery is necessary to re-attach the ligament, Harper will miss eight to 10 weeks, plus time to get his swing back with a minor league rehab assignment. Less than that will grade downward, down to a simple 15 days as the swelling clears up and Harper re-tests the thumb for function. Players tend to come back from this well, and in the case of Pedroia last season, he was able to play through a damaged ligament. The biggest effect on a baseball player is alterations to grip strength. A player like Harper with big bat speed is going to require a lot of grip strength to hold the bat and especially on check swings. Also, the grip and wrists are used to make fine alterations to the swing plane as they track the ball. If Harper doesnt have his normal strength or feel, hell have more swing-and-misses. Pedroia was able to make adjustments but gave up power to maintain contact. Harper may have to do the same thing, but it will be tougher for him as hes a big source of power for the Nats offense. The Nats called up Stephen Souza to take Harpers place on the roster, but hes likely to be used as a bench player or spot starter. While Harper is out, Nate McLouth will take over in right field with Souza and Kevin Frandsen filling in as needed. McLouth isnt a great fantasy choice but could get hot or steal some bases and have some value if youre looking for a fill-in. Souza becomes more of a consideration if Harper misses extended time. The Nationals have ranked at or near the bottom of injury stats for most of their existence but have seen some improvement in the last two seasons. However, keeping Bryce Harper healthy remains their biggest challenge. Losing key players like Harper, Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann for long periods have kept the Nats from taking the step forward many expected in past seasons, so this injury is not a good start to their quest in 2014. Read more MLB news on BleacherReport #Baseball #MLB #NLEast #WashingtonNationals
Posted on: Sun, 27 Apr 2014 19:01:37 +0000
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