Surgery will end Wright’s season
There had been some sleepless nights for Steven Wright this week, but ultimately, he is at peace with his decision.
After carefully weighing his options, the Red Sox knuckleballer has opted to undergo a season-ending cartilage restoration procedure in his left knee, an injury that first surfaced in spring training and worsened to the point of no return.
“It’s definitely disappointing to know that it’s the beginning of the season and my season’s over,” Wright said before last night’s series finale against the Orioles at Fenway. “It’s one of those things where we tried to do whatever we could to get through it, and it just got to a point where it was just unbearable.”
As Wright recalls, he was playing catch during spring training when his foot got stuck in the grass. He felt a “little pop” in his knee, so he went for an MRI, which revealed a slight tear. But it wasn’t bad enough where he couldn’t play.
Last Sunday, the day after his start against the Cubs, Wright came in for treatment like usual, but during his second round of treatment, something was off.
“I couldn’t walk,” Wright said. “I couldn’t get off the table.”
The next day he had a second MRI, which revealed the initial tear from spring training had become significantly worse.
Wright had options. He could rehab and try to pitch through it without surgery. He could go in and get the knee cleaned and scoped, which would have just delayed the inevitable. Or he could undergo a major procedure and get it fixed for good.
It wasn’t easy, but after four days, three doctors and a lot of questions, he chose the latter. The surgery will be done Monday in New York, with the expectation he’ll be ready for the start of the 2018 season.
“That’s one of the reasons why we’re doing it now, because it is a lengthy recovery process, and if I keep waiting to get it done and I end up getting it done anyways, then all of a sudden next season is in question,” Wright said. “But because we’re doing it so soon, and we’re getting on it, there’s no reason why I shouldn’t be ready for the start of next season.”
With David Price already shelved indefinitely, Wright’s injury puts a damper on the Red Sox’ starting pitching depth, at least for the foreseeable future, but Dave Dombrowski and John Farrell don’t seem concerned.
Still, it’s another unfortunate turn for Wright, who was an AllStar last season before he injuring his shoulder while pinch running.
Wright said the knee injury affected his pitching to start the season, which could help explain his rocky April in which he didn’t look like himself. He, and his doctors, were surprised how fast it developed.
“Life’s not a red carpet,” Wright said. “Things are going to come, it happens to everybody. Something comes up, there’s a hiccup. Obviously last year was a bummer and this year sucks, but it’s to the point where I don’t want to be negative about it because it’s going to affect how I go about my day-to-day business.
“You’re going to have hiccups, you’re going to have speed bumps, you try to take it for what it’s worth and you just have to move forward.”