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With Houston Astros pitcher Framber Valdez added to the ever-growing list of pitchers suffering arm injuries, many people inside and out of baseball are wanting to know why this keep happening.
Valdez was scratched from his scheduled Monday start after he reported elbow soreness after playing catch on Sunday. He hasn’t been put on the injured list, yet, but the Astros also haven’t gotten a complete diagnosis of the problem either, so it could happen.
The reasons for the epidemic of pitchers with arm injuries in Major League Baseball are caused by numerous reasons, depending on who you ask.
Shohei Ohtani told The Athletic this week that the emphasis on pitching with max effort along with the pitch clock could be “a significant factor.”
Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole also blames the pitch clock, but too cites the importance of maximum velocity and spin.
“We can start by having more helpful conversations and not pointing fingers and not saying that it’s absolutely this or it’s absolutely not that and we can make it feel that players aren’t necessarily caught in the middle of all of it,” Cole told The Athletic. “But those aren’t going to have a direct correlation to better performance. I don’t have the answers. I’m just frustrated by the fact that I don’t feel like taking care of the players is the main focus of it.”
Three years ago, now-Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow blamed the crackdown on sticky stuff for his arm injury.
Others blame analytics, throwing year-round or bad pitching mechanics.
Meanwhile, Framber Valdez joins a stunning list of pitchers who are either currently unable to play or just now returning from arm injuries.
Justin Verlander (shoulder)
Gerrit Cole (elbow)
Jonathan Loaisiga (elbow)
Spencer Strider (elbow)
Walker Buehler (elbow)
Tejay Antone (elbow)
Taijuan Walker (shoulder)
Orion Kerkering (forearm)
Alek Manoah (shoulder)
Jordan Romano (elbow)
Erik Swanson (forearm)
Shane Bieber (elbow)
Trevor Stephan (elbow)
Daniel Espino (shoulder)
Braxton Garrett (shoulder)
Edward Cabrera (shoulder)
Eury Perez (elbow)
Jakob Junis (shoulder)
Wade Miley (shoulder)
Shohei Ohtani (elbow)
Trevor Gott (elbow)
Jacob deGrom (elbow)
Sandy Alcantara (elbow)
Shane McClanahan (elbow)
Shane Baz (elbow)
Lucas Giolito (elbow)
Anthony DeSclafani (elbow)
John Means (forearm)
Matthew Boyd (elbow)
Chase Silseth (elbow)
Kodai Senga (shoulder)
Ryan Borucki (triceps)
Endy Rodríguez (elbow)
Clayton Kershaw (shoulder)
Tristan Beck (upper arm)
Lucas Gilbreath (elbow)
German Marquez (elbow)
Antonio Senzatela (elbow)
Drey Jameson (elbow)
Ian Anderson (elbow)
Angel Perdomo (elbow)
Kyle Bradish (elbow)
Jean Pinto (elbow)
Nate Webb (elbow)
Felix Bautista (elbow)
Chris Murphy (elbow)
Liam Hendriks (elbow)
Brandon Walter (shoulder)
Noah Song (elbow)
Jeremy Wu-Yelland (elbow)
Kevin Gausman (shoulder)
Casey Mize (elbow)
Marco Gonzales (forearm)
Caleb Kilian (shoulder)
Ben Leeper (elbow)
Davis Martin (elbow)
Edgar Navarro (elbow)
Joe Barlow (shoulder)
Corey Knebel (shoulder)
Sean Burke (shoulder)
Jimmy Lambert (shoulder)
Shane Drohan (shoulder)
Jake Andrew Eder (shoulder)
Matt Foster (elbow)
Ian Gibaut (forearm)
Sam Moll (shoulder)
Brandon Williamson (shoulder)
Reiver Sanmartin (elbow)
Connor Overton (elbow)
Gavin Williams (elbow)
James Karinchak (shoulder)
Justin Campbell (elbow)
Gabriel Hughes (elbow)
Case Williams (tricep)
Angel De Jesus (elbow)
Shawn Dubin (forearm)
Bennett Sousa (shoulder)
Luis Garcia (elbow)
Penn Murfee (elbow)
Jose Urquidy (forearm)
Oliver Ortega (elbow)
Lance McCullers Jr. (forearm)
Kendall Graveman (shoulder)
Josh Taylor (bicep)
Carlos Hernandez (shoulder)
Asa Lacy (elbow)
Kris Bubic (elbow)
Kyle Wright (shoulder)
Ryan Costeiu (elbow)
Robert Stephenson (shoulder)
Jose Quijada (elbow)
Sam Bachman (shoulder)
Brusdar Graterol (shoulder)
Emmet Sheehan (forearm)
Nick Frasso (shoulder)
Tony Gonsolin (elbow)
Dustin May (elbow)
Josh Simpson (elbow)
Robert Gasser (elbow)
Easton McGee (elbow)
Brandon Woodruff (shoulder)
Brent Headrick (forearm)
Jovani Moran (elbow)
Matt Canterino (shoulder)
Zack Weiss (shoulder)
Bryce Montes de Oca (elbow)
Sean Reid-Foley (shoulder)
Tommy Kahnle (shoulder)
Justin Lange (shoulder)
JT Brubaker (elbow)
Lou Trivino (elbow)
Ken Waldichuk (elbow)
Dylan Covey (shoulder)
Andrew Painter (elbow)
Thomas Harrington (shoulder)
Carmen Mlodzinski (elbow)
Dauri Moreta (elbow)
Drew Carlton (elbow)
Luis Patino (elbow)
Reiss Knehr (elbow)
Sean Hjelle (elbow)
Austin Warren (elbow)
Robbie Ray (elbow)
Bryan Woo (elbow)
Eduard Bazardo (shoulder)
Matt Brash (elbow)
Jackson Kowar (elbow)
Taylor Dollard (shoulder)
Keynan Middleton (forearm)
Packy Naughton (elbow)
Riley O’Brien (forearm)
Drew Rom (bicep)
Marcus Johnson (elbow)
Jeffrey Springs (elbow)
Drew Rasmussen (elbow)
Josh Sborz (shoulder)
Kumar Rocker (elbow)
Tyler Mahle (elbow)
Carson Coleman (elbow)
Gerardo Carrillo (elbow)
Major League Baseball, we have a problem.