A’s Fearing Worst Regarding Brett Anderson’s Ailing Left Elbow

Brett Anderson had an MRI on his ailing elbow on Friday, and though results haven’t been disclosed, everyone seems to have a bad, bad feeling:

We’ll await confirmation, but if this is true, it goes without saying that it is a big, big blow to the A’s, and rather dramatically changes the outlook of the rest of the season in the AL West.

The Oakland A’s got a big lift when Brett Anderson came off the DL and threw 5.2 shutout innings against the Tigers in his first start back last week. Unfortunately, Anderson’s second start back Thursday afternoon didn’t go so well, as he had to come out after just two innings of work. And the reason?

There’s no word yet on the severity of the injury, or if Anderson’s removal was precautionary, but it’s worth noting that his fastball was missing about 2mph from where it usually is. That’s troubling on its own, and extra troubling given that he was just recovering from an injury to the same elbow.

A’s ace starter Brett Anderson has been out of action since April 24th with a forearm strain. He was given a 4-6 week timeline, and he seems to be on track to hit it:

Anderson’s original timeline put him at a late May/early June return. If he gets back to a mound in 2-3 weeks, then - assuming some rehab work and no setbacks - he shouldn’t be delayed any more than was already expected. Which would be big news for a team that’s struggling to stay atop a miserable division.