NewsGM: Soria has no structural damage
Moore unsure if injured closer feeling effects of Classic
By Dick Kaegel / MLB.com
05/13/09 1:46 AM ET
KANSAS CITY -- Royals general manager Dayton Moore does not know if the World Baseball Classic had any effect on closer Joakim Soria's current right shoulder issues. Moore was emphatic on two points, however: Soria has no structural damage to his shoulder, and he will have to pitch on an injury rehabilitation assignment in the Minor Leagues before he returns to active duty.Soria went on the 15-day disabled list after Sunday's game at Anaheim with shoulder soreness.
"The only thing I can tell you about that is we're 100 percent sure that there's nothing structurally wrong. He pitched in Minnesota, he pitched against Seattle, and we're sure there's nothing structurally wrong. Basically, what he has is tendonitis of the rotator cuff," Moore said.
An MRI examination was "clean. Everything was clean," he added.
"Obviously, it's never good when a pitcher misses time due to an ailment of the arm, but we're very, very confident that once Joakim finishes his DL time and with the appropriate amount of play in a rehab assignment, he'll be ready to join our team and pitch effectively," Moore said.
"He's going to have to go out and pitch. I want to know he can pitch."
A story in Tuesday's Kansas City Star posed the question of whether Soria's participation in the Classic might have affected the pitcher. During Spring Training, Soria was absent from the Royals' camp for 17 days and pitched just twice in games for Mexico.
"Spring Training exists primarily to get pitching ready to perform in the season in their accustomed role, and the thing about the [Classic] is it doesn't allow you to script out the outings and control the preparation for your pitchers that are participating," Moore said when asked about the story.
"So I don't know if it had anything to do with it or not. I don't know how you'd determine that. I guess Joakim would have to answer that. He made a personal choice to play and we supported that."
"I don't know, I was just getting sore," said Soria when asked if the Classic had any effect on him. "Maybe. I can't say yes or no."
Soria apparently had some irregularities in his training routine because of illness while he was away.
"I think he had some tonsillitis, but whether it affected him or not, I'm not sure," Moore said.
The Star reported it had analyzed 45 pitchers with at least 20 innings in the Majors last year, then participated in the Classic and pitched this season. The newspaper reported: "As a group, their ERA jumped from 3.79 last year to 4.58 so far this season. Across baseball, ERAs are up from an average of 4.32 to 4.51. Seven WBC pitchers are currently or have been on the disabled list already this season -- including five for arm or shoulder injuries."
Moore's take on that?
"I don't know, you'd have to ask those pitchers," he said.
Moore repeated that he did not know if Classic participation had any effect on Soria, but said: "It's an unnatural time for players to participate. Usually their bodies and their mind-set is in a different gear than competing, but it is what it is. I think the [Classic] internationally is a good thing. So I don't have any answers as to whether it should be performed at a different time. No one has asked my opinion about it."
Dick Kaegel is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
