Jake Arrieta Reportedly Plans to Pitch Sunday Despite Having a Freaking Bone Spur
By Parker White
It hasn't been a great season for Philadelphia Phillies veteran starter Jake Arrieta, and the bone spur in his right elbow may be a reason why he owns a 4.67 ERA over his first 18 starts.
There's a chance that Arrieta may need season-ending elbow surgery at some point, but he's going to pitch through it and is slated to start on Sunday against the Washington Nationals.
Jake Arrieta will pitch w bone spur on Sunday. He was fined by MLB for dented skull comment
— Jim Salisbury (@JSalisburyNBCS) July 12, 2019
While Arrieta may not be helping the team pitching through this injury, unfortunately, the Phillies don't have the starting pitching depth to replace him and expect anything better.
Jake Arrieta says he’s frustrated with the bone spur in his elbow
— Jeff Skversky 6abc (@JeffSkversky) July 12, 2019
Arrieta says he does NOT feel season ending surgery would be the best option right now
Arrieta plans to pitch through pain to try help the Phillies make his playoffs @6abc #Phillies pic.twitter.com/cNwpfVhIwQ
As far as Philadelphia's 40-man roster goes, starters Enyel De Los Santos, Cole Irvin and Drew Anderson are at Triple-A Leigh Valley. However, each of them have struggled at the big league level this year, and if Arrieta went down, these would be the options the Phillies have to replace him.
There's no doubt that the Phillies will look to upgrade their starting rotation before the July 31 trade deadline, as they are still contending and are currently in a Wild Card spot.