PHILADELPHIA – Braves left-hander Manny Banuelos will have his sore pitching elbow examined again next week by Dr. James Andrews, who performed the Tommy John surgery on Banuelos' elbow in October 2012 when the pitcher was still a Yankees prospect.
Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez made the announcement Wednesday that Banuelos had been scratched from his scheduled Friday start against the Mets and would have the elbow examined again by Andrews. The famed orthopedist examined him last month at Andrews’ clinic near Pensacola, when Banuelos was at the Braves’ spring-training center rehabbing while on the disabled list with elbow soreness.
The Braves are cautiously optimistic that Banuelos has nothing worse than a bone chip and won’t require surgery, but it’s likely he’ll be shut down for the rest of the season as a precaution, regardless of the diagnosis he receives next week.
“He’s got a real bright future, and it’s more important for his future than to try to get a few more innings out of him this year,” Braves assistant general manager John Coppolella said.
Matt Wisler is the leading candidate to move back from the bullpen to start Friday, although Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez also mentioned Edwin Jackson and Sugar Ray Marimon as possibilities.
Banuelos lasted only two-plus innings in a start Sunday at Washington and was charged with five hits and seven runs (six earned), including two homers.
“He was in some pain,” Coppolella said. “We were hoping the pain would subside, and it has not. So we figure rather than keep trying to force it and get him really hurt, we would just see what’s wrong. I wouldn’t rule him out for the year, but right now we just want to make sure we do what’s best for his health and his long-term future.”
After going 1-1 with a 1.08 ERA and .213 opponents’ average in the first four games (three starts) of his major league career from July 2 through July 18, Banuelos is 0-3 with 12.10 ERA and .378 opponents’ average in his past three starts, including his last start before a five-week stint on the DL and two starts in which he pitched fewer than three innings since returning.
Gonzalez said the dip in Banuelos’ fastball velocity after his first inning was an indication something wasn’t right.
“You could see it. You could see the first inning at 90-91 (miles per hour), and then the next inning is 88,” Gonzalez said. “It doesn’t hurt or anything, but it’s just not the same. The breaking ball’s not there. And so, why even try to keep going? He’ll go see the doctor next week, and we’ll go from there…. From the first report, I think it’s nothing major.”
Banuelos said after Sunday’s start that he had pitched with the elbow in that particular state for quite some time, and that it wasn’t anything serious. He and the Braves had been advised last month that he could pitch without risking further injury with the elbow as it was at that point.
When his discomfort increased to pain during or after his Sunday start, and that pain didn’t subside by Wednesday, the Braves decided to shut him down and schedule another appointment with Andrews.
The Braves got Banuelos from the Yankees in a Jan. 1 trade in exchange for setup man David Carpenter and rookie left-hander Chasen Shreve. Banuelos was rated as one of baseball’s top 30 prospects before the 2011 and 2012 seasons – one service had him as high as No. 13 – but missed the 2013 season recovering from Tommy John surgery.
The Yankees were particularly careful not to overuse him in his first season back in 2014, when was 2-3 with a 4.11 ERA in 26 games (25 starts) at three minor league levels in 2014, with 71 strikeouts and 31 walks in just 76 2/3 innings. Banuelos has pitched a total of 113 innings this season in 24 games (23 starts) in the major and minor leagues.
