We were all thrown for a surprise right before last night’s game when the Cubs announced that Yu Darvish was going on the disabled list with right triceps tendinitis. More than that, he’s also going for an MRI to see what’s going on in there.
“We’re not overly concerned,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon told Cubs.com. “We’re just going precautionary method right now to make sure everything is good based on the fact the guy has had a history. When I talked to him in my office, it didn’t sound awful, but it sounded like something was there …. We thought we could work through it, but there’s some inflammation. We’re calling it tricep tendinitis, so we want to back off to make sure it’s all well.”
Obviously we’ve heard the “we’re not overly concerned” line before, and whether it’s accurate or not in this or other cases, it doesn’t always mean there isn’t a serious issue when all the medical information is gathered. Sometimes, there was good reason not to be concerned. Other times, it’s turned out the issue was worse than original thought.
To be sure, it’s absolutely the right move to get the MRI right now, given the history. And in fact, I don’t think we’re kidding ourselves if we believe that the Cubs would be far more aggressive in resting/getting an MRI for a pitcher like Darvish than other pitchers who felt something mild in their triceps area. You’re not being irrationally hopeful that this is legitimately just precautionary.
That said, we need to be honest about the flip side of that coin. “Triceps” issues are often actually elbow issues (ditto “forearm” and occasionally “biceps”), because everything in that part of the arm connects there at the hinge point – the elbow. Guys can feel it in different spots, but the issue often traces back right there to the scary joint.
Before Darvish got Tommy John surgery in 2015, the injury that sent him for an MRI? Triceps tightness.
You can see why the Cubs are sending him for a scan.
To be sure, Darvish had a triceps issue just last year, and it didn’t even really cost him much time. Sometimes it’s serious. Sometimes it’s not.
So we’ll see what the MRI reveals. I think it’s completely fair to be nervous as hell, or to be optimistic as heaven. Or both at the same time, you know, being that you’re a Cubs fan.