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Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Jeffrey Springs left his start early on Thursday, April 13. He was at the start of the fourth inning and seemed to experience some discomfort or pain in his forearm or elbow. Trainers checked him out, then Springs tried throwing one more pitch and was visibly frustrated at being unable to continue. It is being called “left arm ulnar neuritis” by the team.
Jeffrey Springs was removed from the game after showing discomfort throwing a pitch pic.twitter.com/W1gYv4mLvd
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 13, 2023
Jeffrey Springs injury update
4/23 Update — After further testing, it was found that Springs did indeed suffer a bad injury and will require Tommy John surgery. He is done for the year.
4/14 Update: There is concern that Springs’ injury is worse than initially thought. The starting pitcher will undergo further testing and will get more opinions, but he is now expected to be out for a minimum of two months. If it ends up requiring surgery, Springs could miss the majority of the season, if not all of it.
Though #Rays are seeking additional opinions on the exact diagnosis of Springs’ arm/elbow injury, he is expected to be out a minimum of two months, and it is considered to be more than a nerve issue. If it is something that requires surgery he could be out much longer.
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) April 14, 2023
The tough part about Springs’ injury is that there doesn’t seem to be a clear protocol for how to fix it. Some pitchers that are diagnosed with this ailment are back within a few weeks. Others are sidelined for multiple months. It really is going to come down to how he is feeling and when he can pitch successfully and without any pain.
Jeffrey Springs will see a doctor to get some imaging. Will likely miss some time, but no sense on how long or short that time will be.
— Tricia Whitaker (@TriciaWhitaker) April 13, 2023
Prior to getting hurt, he had pitched three innings against Boston. Springs gave up a first-inning home run to Rob Refsnyder but didn’t allow any other hits and struck out five. He was experiencing a fantastic start to the year. Springs went into the game on Thursday with a 2-0 record with a 0.56 ERA and 24 punchouts.