Oakland Athletics right-handed pitcher Jarrod Parker injured his right arm in a rehab stint on Thursday, and according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, it’s been diagnosed as a fractured elbow.
#Athletics say RHP Jarrod Parker has refractured medial epicondyle in his right elbow. The team and Parker will determine next step later.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) March 11, 2016
Only Parker and his medical team can give definitive answers on his future in baseball, but it’s hard to foresee Parker pitching again, and certainly not any time soon. He’s undergone two Tommy John surgeries, one in 2009 and another in 2014. He re-injured his elbow on a rehab stint in 2015, leading to even more surgery on his right elbow.
The good news for Parker is that he’s only 27 and the list of pitchers that have successfully overcome one Tommy John surgery is immense.
When he’s been on the mound, Parker has been a relatively effective pitcher, recording a 3.68 ERA in 384 career innings.
Unfortunately for Parker, the injuries have greatly limited how often he’s been on the mound. Parker was an integral part of the A’s American League West championship teams in 2012 and 2013, but he hasn’t thrown a pitch since the American League Divisional Series in 2013.
The bad news list gets significantly smaller when it comes to overcoming two Tommy John surgeries. Mounting a comeback after two Tommy John surgeries and two setbacks after the second would Parker in virtually unprecedented territory.