Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Forearm delays Straily’s start
Pitcher says arm is fine, just being cautious
JUPITER — Miami Marlins pitcher Dan Straily insists his throwing arm is fine.
He just wants to proceed with caution.
Straily will be sidelined the remainder of spring training because of right forearm inflammation. He was expected to start the second game of the season against the Chicago Cubs March 30, but Marlins manager Don Mattingly is already exploring other options.
“I feel fine,” Straily said Wednesday. “There is no pain. There is no pulling. There’s no nothing. There’s just some inflammation. Think of it like a hamstring issue. A guy strains a hamstring and you can go walk around just fine, you can go jog around just fine. Then you go sprint and your body is kind of telling you, ‘Hey, hold off a second.’ ”
Straily began experiencing discomfort after pitching a minor-league game Monday. He threw 60 pitches but felt tightness afterward. An MRI revealed the inflammation.
“It went away relatively quickly, but I’ve learned my lesson in this game when you don’t feel something completely right, say something,” Straily said. “We had the cautionary MRI and everything came back clean. We’re just taking a few days and making sure that everything is completely fine.”
Straily led the Marlins with 33 starts last season, going 10-9 with a 4.26 ERA. The team’s medical staff has a issued a strict “nothrow” period while he is sidelined.
“That’s the whole goal,” Straily said. “That’s why we’re taking a couple days off from throwing now. It’s the weirdest thing. I’m like, W` hat’s my treatment?’ Just don’t throw. Again, there’s no pain. There’s no muscle tightness. There’s no soreness. It’s just kind of there. The goal is to take a few days.”
The Marlins did not offer a timetable on when Straily will return. Mattingly said he hasn’t decided who will pitch the second game of the season after Jose Urena starts Opening Day. Among those who could replace Straily are right-handers Odrisamer Depaigne and Jacob Turner, and lefties Caleb Smith and Justin Nicolino.
Straily is content with the patient approach. He learned to be cautious early in his career when working with Oakland Athletics minor-league pitching coordinator Gil Patterson. The A’s drafted Straily in 2009.
“He’d always tell us,If` you feel something, speak up. It’s better to take two days now than two months later,”’ Straily said. “This situation is exactly that being enacted, where let’s just take a couple off now to make sure we don’t have to take time off later.”
Straily had been the Marlins’ most consistent starter in the spring. In four Grapefruit League games, he posted a 1.29 ERA. Last year he did not miss a start, but now faces a first in his career.
“I’ve never been on any sort of (disabled list) in my entire life,” Straily said. “I’m really, really trying to avoid that. It’s obviously not the end of the world if that’s what it comes to, but taking some time now we’re hoping to avoid that in the next coming days.”
Straily said the early frustration is worth it if he stays off the disabled list the rest of the season.
“The only thing we’re doing is not touching a baseball, making sure I keep my body ready to go for that,” Straily said. “I’m already stretched out … My body is ready to go. It’s just a little inflammation that’s holding me back. It’s frustrating but it’s also good to just kind of take precaution now and not have to worry about this the whole season.”