Johan Santana's Return Delayed By Shoulder Fatigue

The other day, it was revealed that the rehabbing Johan Santana was due to meet with a specialist to examine his left shoulder. Why? Santana was dealing with lingering discomfort, and he and the team wanted to make sure nothing serious had wrong wrong.

Well, word's back on his appointment. From Adam Rubin, the news is pretty good:

Johan Santana diagnosed with shoulder fatigue, #Mets say. Will refrain from throwing for a week.

Simple fatigue, and nothing structural. This is a setback, but only a minor one, and Santana will resume his throwing program a week from now. In the meantime, he'll keep conditioning the rest of his body.

If Santana was hoping to return to the Mets by the end of August, this probably shifts the timetable into the middle of September, provided nothing else goes wrong. That's a dangerous assumption, so we won't make it, but the window's still open for Santana to throw some innings before the end of the regular season.

It was going so well for Johan Santana, too.

Working his way back from major shoulder surgery, Santana got as far as making a minor league rehab appearance, throwing three innings for class-A St. Lucie last Thursday. He was scheduled to throw again this Wednesday, but now that appearance has been canceled, as Santana's visiting with a specialist. Why? Mike Fitzpatrick:

The New York Mets ace was scratched from his next scheduled rehab start because of lingering discomfort in his pitching shoulder. He will head back to New York to be examined by a doctor Thursday and it’s uncertain if he will get back to the majors this season.

There's no guarantee that anything's actually wrong, aside from the general soreness. Santana could be just fine. That's why he's going to the doctor. But while the Mets are reluctant to call this a setback, it's a setback, as Santana's return has been delayed. Where it looked like he'd be able to get some major league innings under his belt before the end of the season, that's currently in doubt, pending the doctor's word.

Neither Santana nor the Mets are going to rush anything. If Santana's cleared to resume throwing soon, he could still pitch a little in September.

At long last, the seemingly interminable rehab of New York Mets lefty Johan Santana may be approaching its conclusion. On Thursday, Santana will begin his minor league rehab assignment by starting for A-ball St. Lucie.

Not long ago, Santana experienced something of a setback. Soon thereafter he got back on a mound and threw a few bullpens and simulated games without incident. The Mets are proceeding cautiously, but a minor league rehab assignment is the next step, and the last step between where Santana is now and a return to the majors.

If everything goes according to plan, Santana could re-join the Mets near the end of August. Everything may not go according to plan, as everything seldom does, but there exists that possibility, and if not August, then September. It seems probable that the Mets will see at least something out of Santana before the end of the year, which should help them plan for 2012. Santana's still under contract through 2013 so he's not going anywhere, but if the Mets think they can actually count on him to pitch effectively with the injury behind him, then that'll provide a big lift.

Remember when Johan Santana's rehab was going well, and he was going to pitch in June or maybe July at the latest?

Scratch that. Here's the latest, from Mike Puma (via the Post):

Johan Santana has dealt with soreness in his surgically repaired left shoulder for the last 1½ weeks, slowing his rehab process, Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said yesterday.

As a result, the left-hander, who the Mets originally hoped would return by the All-Star break (which begins July 11), likely won't return until sometime in August.

At best, right? I suppose that "sometime in August" is most likely ... but significantly more likely than "sometime in September" or "sometime in the spring of 2012"? I'm not convinced. Santana's been mired in rehab hell for longer than anyone can remember, so at this point it will seem like something of a surprise if he ever pitches again, ever.

Oddly, even with Santana and Chris Young both on the shelf, the Mets' rotation has not been a Superfund site this spring, with only Mike Pelfrey really struggling. And if Pelfrey could just stop giving up so many home runs, the Mets might actually have five pretty good starting pitchers.

Will Santana someday make it six? "Sometime in August" seems a long ways away ...

New York Mets left-hander Johan Santana threw off a mound for the first time since September 14, according to ESPN New York. Adam Rubin reports that Santana threw 15 pitches without any unusual pain or complications.

This was the next step in the progression of Santana's rehabilitation from surgery to repair a torn capsule in his left shoulder, with the first step coming earlier in the month when Santana was throwing on flat ground over a distance of up to 150 feet. The Mets are still hoping for a July return, though Rubin brings up a sobering point:

Still, Santana still has hurdles to clear. Chien-Ming Wang of the Washington Nationals is still trying to return to game action two seasons after undergoing a similar procedure.

That's probably the first time you've thought about Chien-Ming Wang in a year, and he too used to be one of the best starting pitchers in the game. While Santana appears to be on track, there's never a guarantee that he'll be the same pitcher.

Mets ace starter Johan Santana missed the end of the 2010 season after undergoing shoulder surgery. The expectation was that he'd be knocked out for the first few months of the 2011 regular season, but that he would be able to come back. Then, on Saturday, a troubling report came out - a source said that the Mets were prepared to shut down Santana's throwing program, that he wasn't progressing very well, and that internally the team felt it would be "lucky" if Santana returned in 2011 at all.

Well, on Sunday, Santana refuted that report. Said Johan:

"We’re on the right track and where we’re supposed to be," Santana said. "Whoever says I’m not ready is lying."

Santana played catch on Friday and Saturday, before preparing to rest on Sunday and Monday. It is a slow rehabilitation process, but he is moving along, and says that he's taken a step forward since reporting to camp. He doesn't know when he'll be able to return to a mound, but general manager Sandy Alderson projects him to participate in minor league games in May and come back to the Mets by July. And as of now, there's no reason to believe that Santana's off track.

So Mets fans can breathe easy. They don't yet have their ace, but they do still have him on the road to recovery.

Monday morning, it was reported that Johan Santana was awaiting a second opinion on his shoulder from Dr. James Andrews. That second opinion, it appears, confirmed the first one, and Monday afternoon we found out that Santana will have shoulder surgery on Tuesday. The surgery will end Santana's season, an otherwise successful year that saw Santana post a 2.98 ERA and strike out 144 batters over 199 innings.

Johan Santana's pectoral injury seemed to be no big deal. Though it forced him out of a game early, and caused him to miss his next scheduled start, by and large things were looking pretty good. Until Thursday night. Thursday night is when an MRI revealed something far more sinister. The press release:

An MRI at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan yesterday revealed that Mets pitcher Johan Santana has suffered a tear of the anterior capsule of the left shoulder.  The injury is located on the front and bottom part of the shoulder close to the pectoral muscle, resulting in discomfort radiating through both the pectoral muscle and shoulder.  Santana will undergo surgery in the near future and we anticipate he will be able to resume throwing in the spring.

This will be the third straight year that Santana has undergone a surgical procedure - he had elbow surgery to remove bone chips a year ago, and had his knee worked on in 2008. On the plus side, each of those operations was on a different part of his body. On the down side, you never want your big-money ace to turn into a scalpel magnet. That Santana is about to have shoulder surgery is especially concerning. Knees can be fixed. Elbows can be fixed. Shoulders are more tricky. Shoulders can be fixed, too, and often are, but if a pitcher has to get hurt anywhere, the shoulder's about as bad as it gets. Except for the brain, I guess. The brain and the spine.

So, what looked like nothing turned into a pretty significant medical problem. How Mets.

Johan Santana's pectoral injury has at no point been considered severe, but the Mets are still going to play it safe:

Santana recently threw a bullpen that went pretty well, but at 67-70 and 11 games out of the Wild Card, the Mets have no reason to hurry things with their ace pitcher who's still under contract for another three years. Odds are he'll return to the rotation for the next turn.

Atlanta, GA (Sports Network) - Johan Santana left after five innings, but limited Atlanta to just one run as the New York Mets avoided a four-game sweep at the hands of the Braves with a 4-2 win.

Santana (11-9) left the game with a strained pectoral muscle. Prior to his departure, the left-hander had given up the one run on three hits with a walk and three strikeouts to break a three-start losing streak.

David Wright hit a solo home run while Joaquin Arias also had an RBI for the Mets, who had dropped six of eight coming into the game.

Brian McCann went 3-for-4 with a solo home run while Martin Prado drove in the other run for the Braves, who had a five-game winning streak stopped.

Tim Hudson (15-6), who was named the National League Pitcher of the Month on Thursday, had a six-game winning streak snapped as he was charged with four runs -- three earned -- on eight hits with a walk and four strikeouts over seven innings.

The loss shortened Atlanta's lead in the NL East to 2 1/2 games over Philadelphia, which is currently playing Colorado.

The Mets tagged Hudson for a pair of runs in the first inning. With two outs, Carlos Beltran hit a triple to center, and he came home when Omar Infante's throw to third went into the visitor's dugout. The next three batters then reached base to set the stage for Arias, who beat out an infield single to score Chris Carter for a 2-0 lead.

The Braves got one back in the second when McCann led off the frame with a blast over the right field wall, his 20th home run of the season.

Wright's homer in the sixth extended New York's lead to 3-1.

New York tacked on another run in the seventh as Luis Castillo singled with one out, Lucas Duda reached base on an Infante error and Beltran followed with a fielder's choice to plate Castillo for a 4-1 lead.

McCann led off the seventh with a single, but Matt Diaz lined out to first which saw McCann caught off the bag for the double play. Alex Gonzalez then grounded out to end the inning.

With Bobby Parnell on the mound in the eighth, Melky Cabrera led off with a single to center for the Braves. Parnell got the next two batters out, but Jason Heyward worked a walk and a passed ball moved both runners into scoring position. Prado then hit a high chopper that Wright made a barehanded grab on, but he was unable to make a play and Cabrera scored to make it a two-run game. Derrek Lee, though, flied out to end the inning.

Hisanori Takahashi worked around a leadoff single by McCann in the ninth to pick up his third save of the season.

McCann eclipsed the 20-home run plateau for the third straight season and fourth time in his six-year career. His career high was 24 in 2006...Atlanta has taken eight of the 15 games with the Mets this season. These teams have one more series this season, which will take place in New York from September 17-19...Atlanta plays a three-game set in Florida starting Friday...The Mets continue their 10-game road trip in Chicago on Friday.