Photo by Chris Mezzavilla/KNBR
SAN FRANCISCO–Giants closer Mark Melancon was placed on the disabled list for the first time in his career on May 9.
But that trip to the disabled list was not the first time Melancon has dealt with a pronator strain.
On Friday afternoon, Melancon admitted in the Giants clubhouse that he’s dealt with this injury every season since 2012, but in past years, the discomfort in his pitching arm has subsided. This year, it hasn’t.
“I’ve had discomfort every day of this season,” Melancon said. “And dating back to 2012, this has been an issue at some point every year. But it’s always subsided. So it hasn’t been an issue, so to speak. It’s something that always seems to subside. But this year, not as much.”
Melancon, Giants manager Bruce Bochy and Giants’ trainer Dave Groeschner said the team has considered the possibility of offseason surgery, but no one was prepared to discuss a potential surgery yet. The Giants will have internal discussions about Melancon’s rehab, but in the meantime, he’ll continue to pitch.”
“I don’t want to get too far in depth, so yeah, I don’t want to get too far in depth because I want to make sure we’re talking about it internally first,” Melancon said.
With the Giants completely out of playoff contention, Melancon –who signed a four-year, $62 million contract this offseason– was asked why he’ll continue to pitch instead of getting an early start on rehabbing for next season.
“It’s a good question,” Melancon said. “I want to make sure that guys understand that you know, first of all I want to be out there and show them it’s important to battle back and to fight through and I think we have a lot to prove this year still. Even though we’re not going to the playoffs, you know, these next six, seven weeks blend into next year and it takes us, we set the tone now for next year. I think it’s really important to continue that and to work toward next year and set the foundation.”