WASHINGTON – An MRI exam confirmed that Braves pitcher Gavin Floyd's surgically-repaired ligament remained intact in the right elbow that he fractured while throwing a pitch Thursday against the Nationals.
Floyd will likely need season-ending surgery for the fracture, but the Braves haven’t made an announcement and manager Fredi Gonzalez said he didn’t think anything would be know for sure until Floyd sees another doctor Monday or Tuesday in Atlanta.
The veteran right-hander flew to Atlanta on Friday to have the MRI, which was read by a technician who confirmed that the ulnar collateral ligament was intact, as had been indicated by an X-ray taken Thursday at Nationals Park.
Floyd had the ligament reconstructed via “Tommy John” surgery in May 2012, when a torn flexor tendon in the elbow was also repaired.
“All I know is he flew in, got an MRI, the technician read it, and now he’s going to go see a doctor,” Gonzalez said. “Now, which doctor that is, I couldn’t tell you. But other than the fracture, everything in the arm is fine.”
After a year-long rehabilitation, Floyd posted a solid 2.65 ERA with a 2-2 record in nine starts for the Braves.
He was having his best start, throwing a two-hit shutout against the Nationals, when he fractured the olecranon in his elbow while throwing a curveball on the first pitch of the seventh inning Thursday. The olecranon is the tip of the elbow, the rounded end of the ulna bone.
There have been so few similar injuries to professional pitchers that it’s unclear what kind of chances that Floyd, 31, has to return to pitching at the major league level or how long it might take. He is on a one-year contract with a $4 million base salary with the Braves and will be eligible for free agency after the season.
