Relief for Braves: Jurrjens' shoulder not damaged

By David O'Brien

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Huge sign of relief for the Braves today: Braves pitcher Jair Jurrjens has only mild inflammation in his right shoulder and could resume throwing as soon as next week.

A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam showed no damage to the rotator cuff or labrum in the young standout's pitching shoulder.

"I was a little worried until I got the MRI results," Jurrjens said. "When the trainer said, ‘You need to fly to Atlanta for an MRI,' that's scary."

After being told he has only anterior shoulder inflammation and should be able to resume throwing in a matter of days, Jurrjens predicted he wouldn't be behind other Braves pitchers.

Jurrjens was 14-10 with a 2.60 ERA that was the third-lowest in the National League in 2009, his second full season in the majors.

"I've been throwing from the mound since the end of December, so I don't think missing a couple of days will affect on me," said Jurrjens, 24.  "I'm not going to be behind at all."

Jurrjens and fans throughout Braves Nation could finally relax a bit, even if general manager Frank Wren insisted he wasn't worried to begin with.

"We expected the tests to be normal and we were not concerned,"  Wren said. "We always try to err on the side if caution when treating our players, and use these types of tests to pinpoint the diagnosis to give them the specific treatment necessary."

Jurrjens was flown to Atlanta for the MRI exam on Tuesday afternoon, after having lingering soreness during his first few days at the Braves' spring-training headquarters in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The MRI results were viewed by Braves orthopedist Dr. Xavier Duralde on Wednesday morning.

Jurrjens and a few others had arrived at spring training a week before pitchers and catchers were due to report this Friday.

He  said felt a "pop" in his shoulder last week while making an across-the-body throw to second base during a low-key game with other professional players in his native Curacao, then had some soreness when he did light throwing in Florida.

Jurrjens thinks the problem resulted from getting a little too tight in his shoulders from lifting weights  during the last month of the offseason.

The Braves brought him to Atlanta to be examined by Duralde as a precautionary measure, and the MRI results were what they hoped for. They think he has nothing more than the type of soreness sometimes associated with the resumption of throwing following an offseason.

Jurrjens is one of baseball's ascendant young pitchers, and many people don't realize he's only seven months older than Braves pitching phenom Tommy Hanson.

Jurrjens pitched a career-high 215 innings in 2009 and allowed two earned runs or fewer in 26 of 34 starts. He was NL Pitcher of the Month in September after going 4-1 with a 1.25 ERA.

He had a 2.47 ERA in 22 starts after early June, though just a 9-7 record in that period. The Braves scored two runs or fewer while he was in 14 of those 22 games. In seven of the 22 starts, Jurrjens failed to get a win despite allowing three earned runs or fewer in seven or more innings.