The Kansas City Royals on Friday placed left-handed pitcher Bailey Falter on the 15-day injured list with left elbow inflammation.
Falter underwent an MRI and received an injection. Royals manager Matt Quatraro later revealed there isn’t any structural damage.
“Yeah, his elbow is barking a little bit,” Quatraro said. “He’s got inflammation and the term is VEO (Valgus Extension Overload), which to my understanding means it hurts when you extend your elbow. It’s something you got to do every time you throw the ball. And, he’s been battling with that. He had some of it last year and went on the IL as well.”
Quatraro hopes it will be a short injury stint for Falter. This season, the Royals have utilized Falter in a different role. He has made two relief appearances — allowing five earned runs across 3 and 1/3 innings.
Falter felt some discomfort last weekend. On opening day, Falter tossed three innings against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. He was able to undergo his regular arm care in-between relief outings.
However, he felt a sharp pain near his elbow. He managed the discomfort in one-third of an inning against the Minnesota Twins.
“It’s just a spot on the back of the elbow,” Falter said. “It’s a lot of bone-on-bone contact right now. So, we’re basically lubing it up right now.”
Falter admitted that he might’ve aggravated the injury on the mound. The weather conditions weren’t favorable in Wednesday’s game against the Twins.
“I think I was trying to overcompensate because the landing spot wasn’t the best,” Falter said of his recent outing. “But, everyone had to pitch off (the muddy mound), right? So, it’s not much of an excuse, but by the time I got out there, it was just strictly mud. I think I was just trying to overcompensate and threw my arm in a little bad position.”
Falter said there was some lingering pain on Wednesday. However, he felt fine after receiving the injection — which he likened to using WD-40 to lubricate a squeaky wheel.
Quatraro added that Falter’s injection will allow for better movement in his elbow.
“It was exactly what we thought it was, nothing else out of the ordinary,” Falter said. “So we know exactly what we need to do for it, and we’re starting that. We started it yesterday after the game, and we’re going to continue it for the next couple of days and get back out there.”
Falter has dealt with the nagging injury for two years. He can pitch through the injury but with a new role and early in the season, he decided to get the elbow right.
“Two to three days, it’s not going to be long,” Falter said of his recovery. “Then, I’m going to start throwing again here pretty soon.”
The Royals recalled right-hander Luinder Avila from Triple-A Omaha. He is slated to start the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Milwaukee Brewers at Kauffman Stadium. (Avila was to start Friday night’s game, but that game was postponed due to inclement weather.) Avila will make the spot start Saturday as Michael Wacha is sidelined with an illness.
“He pitched up here out of the (bullpen) last year and did a great job,” Quatraro said of Avila. “You know, he didn’t seem to skip a beat. So if he gained more experience this spring, that can only help him.”
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Jaylon Thompson covers the Royals for The Kansas City Star. He previously covered the 2021 World Series and the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Jaylon is a proud alumnus of the University of Georgia.