Earlier this week BNS reported that Rafael Furcal was feeling increasing pain in his elbow. Apparently the soreness in his right elbow warrants a trip to see Dr. James Andrews on Wednesday. Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak also said it is unlikely that Furcal would be ready to play by opening day. The Cardinals’ starting shortstop was shut down on Saturday, feeling increasing pain in his elbow once he tried to start hitting from the left-side. Furcal is a switch-hitter, but had been staying away from the left side of the plate during the spring to try to limit his elbow pain.
Furcal, trying to come back from a torn ligament in his elbow, had hoped to make his spring training debut Sunday. It was Furcal’s decision not to undergo surgery after he partially tore his ulnar collateral ligament on August 30th. The Cardinals agreed to let him try to rehab instead of undergo an operation, hoping it would be enough to have an offseason of rehab and rest.
“I don’t decide if people have surgery or not,” Mozeliak said, according to the Post-Dispatch. “I’m not a doctor. I’m a general manager. I can tell you that the information we received was that he did not require surgery. Doctors [including Andrews] that reviewed his MRI and his situation believed that the best thing for him was rest. That’s what we did.”
Pete Kozma and Ronny Cedeno Would likely take over at shortstop while Furcal is out, unless the team makes trade.
