Diamondbacks RHP De La Rosa will undergo stem-cell therapy
WASHINGTON – Diamondbacks right-hander Rubby De La Rosa, who continues to be bothered by elbow discomfort, will undergo stem-cell therapy on Tuesday, a procedure that serves as a sort of last-ditch effort to avoid a second Tommy John surgery.
Stem-cell therapy, in which stem cells taken from bone marrow are injected, in De La Rosa’s case, into the elbow, is a way of stimulating healing. De La Rosa has felt discomfort in his elbow since late May, when he was placed on the disabled list and diagnosed with a sprained ulnar-collateral ligament.
De La Rosa was in Florida on Monday to visit with renowned orthopedist Dr. James Andrews, the surgeon who performed his Tommy John procedure in 2011, and Andrews “didn’t see enough on the MRI” to confirm De La Rosa needed another reconstruction of the ligament, Diamondbacks head athletic trainer Ken Crenshaw said.
De La Rosa already underwent a platelet-rich plasma injection earlier in the summer, which Crenshaw said “didn’t seem to change much.”
“The biggest fear, when you look at the situation he’s in, is if we reconstruct it there’s about a 40 percent chance of return, if you look at the statistics; it’s not real high,” Crenshaw said. “Given the first UCL reconstruction is 75-80 percent, the second one is about 40 percent. I think Dr. Andrews’ feelings were let’s just save our biggest bullet for last. Let’s try this option.”
Stem-cell therapy is a relatively new procedure, at least when it comes to major-league pitchers. The only pitcher known to have had this procedure work for them is Mets right-hander Bartolo Colon, who had injections in his elbow and shoulder to repair ligament damage and a torn rotator cuff in 2010. Others are believed to have undergone it without the knowledge and/or consent of their teams and have not publicly acknowledged it.
A pair of Angels pitchers, left-hander Andrew Heaney and right-hander Garrett Richards, had stem-cell injections in their elbows earlier this year. They have seen mixed results. Eight weeks after receiving his injection, Heaney underwent an ultrasound that showed no healing and underwent Tommy John surgery.
Richards, meanwhile, appears to be making strides. Three ultrasounds have shown the ligament is getting better, and he has begun throwing again. He is expected to face hitters next week in an Instructional League game in Arizona.
“I feel as fresh as Day One, spring training,” Richards told the Los Angeles Times on Monday.
The Diamondbacks could have a decision to make when it comes to De La Rosa’s contract status. He made $2.35 million this year and will be eligible for arbitration for the second time next season.
The club has discussed the idea of non-tendering him, a source indicated. But the organization could have a new baseball operations department in place by the Dec. 2 deadline to tender contracts, and by that point the team should have a sense of how the therapy is taking for De La Rosa.
De La Rosa appeared to making strides this season in his development as a starting pitcher before going down. In his final six starts before going on the disabled list, he had posted a 2.92 ERA with 37 strikeouts in 37 innings. He had perhaps the best pure stuff of any pitcher in the rotation, with a fastball that reached the mid-to-upper 90s to go along with a breaking ball and change-up.