There’s not a lot to this story just yet, so I’m going to do my best to remain as un-emo as possible.
But big-time Chicago Cubs prospect Albert Almora – the team’s top pick in 2012, and a consensus top 100 prospect in baseball – just tweeted this:
Not a good day! Broke my Hamate bone!
— Albert Almora Jr. (@albertalmora) March 15, 2013
We’ll probably get more details in the coming days on how it happened, how bad it is, and his prognosis (though don’t necessarily expect a ton of details, because teams are frequently quiet about minor league injuries), but your early reaction is probably to freak out, given that the hamate bone is in the wrist.
WRIST INJURY! AHHHHH!
Step back. The hamate bone injury, while never a good thing, has become increasingly treatable in recent years, and the success stories – by which I mean guys who came back within a couple months and performed just as well as they had before the injury – are many. Yes, sometimes wrist issues linger for years. But that isn’t always the case.
For now, let’s be calm and await the details.
If you want a super small sample size to help you sleep tonight, here’s Nick Markakis’ line after returning from a hamate injury last year (he missed a touch over a month): .335/.390/.489.