St. Louis Cardinals' Jaime Garcia to possibly undergo shoulder surgery – MLB News
St. Louis Cardinals' starter Jaime Garcia is expected travel to Birmingham, Alabama, to meet with famous orthopaedist Dr. James Andrews as there are talks of his shoulder surgery by the end of this month.
Garcia was out of the National League Division Series as he had difficulty pitching in Game 2 against the Washington Nationals. He had to exit early, forcing the team to bring Lance Lynn as the reliever, who tossed 50 pitches.
With the issue in his shoulder, he recently underwent an MRI, but that did not have any clear result, remaining inconclusive. The lack of clarity on it has forced the team to have an exploratory shoulder surgery by the end of the month.
For now, he is to travel to have his MRI examined by Dr. Andrews for having a third opinion. Previously it was team physician Dr. George Paletta and New York orthopedist Dr. David Altcheck who had examined the MRI and had reached almost the same conclusion.
"It doesn't hurt to get an extra opinion," Garcia said. "This is the guy that has more experience than anybody. At this point, I don't know what he has to say. I'm just going to go see him. He'll take a look at me. He'll take a look at the MRI. I want whatever is the best solution to this for my team and for myself. That's all I can really hope for."
John Mozeliak, the team general manager had his view to share about the matter. “In this case, waiting another week or two [to decide what to do] isn't the end of the world," Mozeliak said. "Regardless, we want some resolution no later than Nov. 1."
The Cardinals have named Lance Lynn to start in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series as the team has qualified. The absence of Garcia, undeniably, will have an impact on the team’s rotation.
What is clear is that Jaime Garcia is now out for the remainder of the post-season. How do things go from here is something that the Cardinals have to see and make decisions accordingly.
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