Brian Lawrence suffers torn right labrum

[SSH2005]

http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/...t=.jsp&c_id=mlb

Lawrence suffers torn right labrum

MRI exam reveals injury; right-hander out until at least August

 

VIERA, Fla. -- Frank Robinson said recently that a baseball manager's No. 1 goal during the exhibition season is to have everybody healthy during Spring Training. That won't be the case with the Nationals, as they learned on Saturday that right-hander Brian Lawrence will miss most of the 2006 season with a torn labrum.

Lawrence will have surgery at the Washington Hospital Center in D.C. on Sunday. Dr. Weimi Douoguih, the team's orthopedic physician, will perform the surgery.

 

The early prognosis is that Lawrence will be out until August, but if his injury is similar to Tony Armas Jr.'s -- in which he had both a torn rotator cuff and labrum -- Lawrence would be out for the rest of the season.

 

Lawrence began to feel shoulder stiffness early this week. Lawrence thought the soreness was caused by a winter of inactivity. After a few days of rest, he had another bullpen session on Wednesday. Although Lawrence pitched the entire eight minutes on the mound, pitching coach Randy St. Claire thought Lawrence's pitching motion wasn't free and easy.

 

"He looked guarded on the mound, but he said he felt better," St. Claire said.

 

By Friday, the pain grew worse and, that evening, Lawrence had an MRI exam performed, which also revealed a lot of wear and tear on his rotator cuff.

 

Lawrence was acquired from the Padres in the Vinny Castilla trade last November. Lawrence took a physical before the trade was officially announced and there was no indication that Lawrence had arm problems.

 

"Obviously, it's disappointing," Lawrence said. "Injuries have never been an issue with me. I never felt any pain until the first day I showed up here.

 

"Hopefully, we'll get this cleared up and I'll be good and strong in August or September."

 

The Nationals will pay Lawrence a base salary of $3.5 million in 2006. Lawrence also is scheduled to make a roster bonus, which the Padres will pay for. There is also a club option for $7.5 million for 2007 and a buyout for $550,000. If the Nationals chose to buy out Lawrence, Washington will be responsible for $125,000, while San Diego will pay the rest.

 

Lawrence was one of five players -- along with Armas, Ryan Drese, Ramon Ortiz and Jon Rauch -- who were vying for the last three spots in the rotation.

Ouch. I guess that Vinny Castilla trade wasn't a steal afterall.

[LosMediasBlancas]

Pitchers should have mandatory MRIs, at the end of every season, at the start of ST and at the ASG. It'll never happen, but it should.

[DBAHO]

Perhaps Jim Bowden will intensify moves to trade Alfonso Soriano now.

[SSH2005]

http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/NASApp...t=.jsp&c_id=was

Surgery puts Lawrence out of action

Red Sox lefty Wells is one option Nats may pursue via trade

 

VIERA, Fla. -- Nationals pitcher Brian Lawrence had right shoulder surgery at Washington Center Hospital on Sunday morning, and it turns out that he had extensive labrum and rotator cuff tears. The right-handed starter is likely out for the season.

 

Lawrence will return to the team training camp sometime this week and immediately begin physical therapy. The Nationals hope he can then start throwing in 12 weeks. Lawrence is expected to be out four to eight months.

 

Lawrence began to feel shoulder stiffness early last week. He thought the soreness was caused by a winter of inactivity. After a few days of rest, he had another bullpen session on Wednesday. Although Lawrence pitched the entire eight minutes on the mound, he still didn't feel comfortable.

 

By Friday, the pain grew worse, and Lawrence had an MRI exam performed that evening, which revealed just the tear in the labrum. The rotator cuff damage wasn't discovered until the surgery.

 

With Lawrence out for an extended period of time, Washington is currently looking for help outside the organization. According to a baseball source, the Nationals are looking to acquire left-hander David Wells from the Red Sox.

 

There are some concerns regarding Wells. He would like to be traded to the Padres and be near his home in San Diego. Wells also had right knee surgery during the offseason, but is expected to be ready for action soon. Then there's Wells' salary. He is scheduled to make a minimum of $4 million this season. But the dollar amount could climb to $9 million if he makes 30 starts. The Nationals would like the Red Sox to pay most, if not all, of the salary.

 

General manager Jim Bowden was not available for comment.

 

Wells, who went 15-7 with a 4.46 ERA with Boston in 2005, has a history with Bowden. They worked together in 1995, when both were with the Reds. Bowden has often credited Wells for helping the team win the division title that year and advance to the National League Championship Series against the Braves. That season, Wells was 6-5 with a 3.59 ERA for Cincinnati after coming over from the Tigers in a trade.

 

The Nationals also are still in the hunt for free agent Pedro Astacio; however, more teams have come into the mix for his services. Besides the Padres, the Reds and Rockies would like to have Astacio on their staffs, according to the source. The Nationals have offered the right-hander a non-guaranteed Minor League deal, but the Padres are prepared to give Astacio a Major League deal on May 1.

 

Washington is not concerned with the fact that Astacio was a combined 6-10 with a 4.69 ERA with the Rangers and Padres last year. The Nationals recognize that Astacio, 36, was one of the best pitchers for the Padres, who won the National League West title. He went 4-2 with a 3.17 ERA for San Diego, and 2-0 with a 1.89 ERA in the final month of the season.

[SSH2005]

Perhaps Jim Bowden will intensify moves to trade Alfonso Soriano now.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Looks like the Nationals are trying to trade Nick Johnson or Ryan Church for Bronson Arroyo...

 

http://redsox.bostonherald.com/redSox/view...rticleid=128225

Nationals might pitch deal to Red Sox

By Jeff Horrigan

Monday, February 27, 2006 - Updated: 06:00 AM EST

 

FORT MYERS - The Washington Nationals are believed to be eyeing the Red Sox for a potential deal for a starting pitcher after losing right-hander Brian Lawrence until at least August with a torn labrum in his right shoulder.

 

Matt Clement, who is owed $9.5 million each of the next two seasons, is probably out of Washington’s price range, but Bronson Arroyo, who inked a three-year deal worth $10.5 million in January, certainly would be appealing.

 

To acquire Arroyo, the Nationals may have to part with a package including first baseman Nick Johnson or outfielder Ryan Church.

 

The Red Sox currently have seven candidates for five spots in their starting rotation. That group includes David Wells, who’s asked to be traded closer to his San Diego home. The Sox are still hoping the veteran left-hander will rescind that request, but the team is believed to have had contingency discussions with the San Diego Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers if he does not.

 

Wells has yet to participate in team workouts and did not take part in its Photo Day yesterday. The 42-year-old has confined the bulk of his training to indoors after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in October. He’s played long toss on a daily basis, which has impressed manager Terry Francona.

 

“He’s kind of a freak of nature with his arm,” Francona said. “He’s throwing probably 225 feet and flawlessly, but at the same time, he’s not doing weight-bearing things on the field. He’s going to get itchy to pitch soon because his arm feels so good, and that’s where we’re going to butt heads a little bit.”

 

Francona feels you can never have too many starters.

 

“When you think you have too much pitching, you usually don’t have enough,” he said. “We’ll let this play out. It will take care of itself.”

[Milkman delivers]

Oh, they better not trade Nick Johnson for f***ing Bronson Arroyo.

[Balta1701]

The Nats signed Pedro Astacio to a 1 year deal, contingent on Astacio passing an MRI exam, which they're now supposedly going to start doing now that they feel like they got screwed in acquiring Lawrence.

 

This should, if it goes through, remove the immediate need to trade for Arroyo, IMO.