Braves pitcher Matt Marksberry was being treated for what the team said was severe dehydration in an Orlando-area hospital Wednesday after going in for a procedure unrelated to baseball.
A Facebook post from his brother Wednesday said that Marksberry was on life support. Others familiar with the situation said the pitcher was in a medically induced coma and that his vital signs were good.
A Braves spokesman said only that Marksberry was being treated for “severe dehydration” and that HIPAA rules prohibited the team from divulging any further information. The rules are particularly restrictive since Marksberry’s health situation was not baseball-related.
Marksberry, 26, said on his Twitter page Monday: “I don’t want to sound selfish but I really could use some prayers for my health right now. Non baseball related. Thank you guys.”
Rumors spread among friends of Marksberry on Facebook and Twitter that he had suffered a stroke and collapsed lung during the procedure Tuesday, which a person close to the family said was a colonoscopy after he’d experienced stomach pains last week. The Braves would not comment on those or other details.
A post on his brother Ethan Marksberry’s Facebook page at about 2 p.m. Wednesday afternoon said that Ethan had received a phone call from his mother and found out his brother was on life support. His parents were traveling to Florida from their Ohio home Wednesday after learning of his condition.
Matt Marksberry, a 15th-round draft pick in 2013 out of Campbell University in North Carolina, made his major league debut in 2015 and pitched in 31 games for the Braves that season.
The left-handed reliever spent most of the 2016 season at Triple-A Gwinnett but made four major league relief appearances before going on the disabled list with rotator-cuff inflammation in his pitching shoulder, which sidelined him for the final two months of the season.
The Ohio native was spending the offseason in Florida and rehabbing his shoulder to prepare for the 2017 season.
