Meredith, who had to cut his first bullpen session short last week after experiencing pain in his surgically repaired right elbow, had another setback yesterday that required another MRI.
The results of that test (an arthrogram) haven't been read by doctors yet, but Meredith doesn't sound optimistic he'll be allowed to resume pitching anytime soon.
"I'm certainly not any help to myself or the Washington Nationals right now if my elbow's not right," he said.
Meredith, a sidearm-throwing reliever who was a key member of the Padres' bullpen from 2006-09, struggled last season with the Orioles and wound up having surgery in October to remove bone chips from his elbow.
He figured all would be fine once he recovered from the surgery, and he came to Nationals camp believing he could make the Opening Day bullpen as a non-roster invitee.
"I guess some guys bounce back better than others, some guys have smoother recoveries," he said. "In my particular case, it's frustrating. I was expecting to get in, get it done and be right back to my normal self. Right now, that's just not the case."
The 27-year-old Richmond native had an MRI last week after the first incident, but that test came back clean. He'll remain in camp while waiting to learn what the latest MRI shows, but he won't participate in drills until given the green light.
"It's obviously pretty deflating for me," Meredith said. "I worked too hard this offseason to get myself back to come here and not be able to [compete]. I've never been in a spot like this in my career. I've always been pretty resilient, healthy. It's kind of a mental gut-check for me, I guess."
2 comments:
Unfortunately for Cla Meredith, he may have tried to come back too soon from his recent elbow clean-up (only two months after surgery). As a possible 2011 National, his prospects are most likely less than 5%.
I wish him well; He could possibly bounce back later in the year with either the Nats (should they keep him), or with another team.
I hope this doesn't sound hateful, but Cla Meredith wasn't even on my radar this offseason. While I feel bad for the guy -- everybody wants to make the bigs, especially those who have already been there -- this is not devastating to the Nats.
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