News
Glavine to visit Andrews about shoulder
Setback in rehab stint prompts meeting with Alabama doctor
By Mark Bowman / MLB.com
04/13/09 5:32 PM ET
ATLANTA -- Instead of making his scheduled return to the Braves rotation next weekend, Tom Glavine will be visiting Dr. James Andrews to gain a better understanding of his future.Glavine is scheduled to travel to Birmingham, Ala., on Tuesday to allow Andrews to examine his left shoulder, which produced some discomfort and concern during a Minor League rehab start with Double-A Mississippi on Sunday afternoon.
Until he has the opportunity to visit with Andrews, Glavine doesn't want to make any assumptions about his future. Instead, he simply remains hopeful that he will pitch again.
"Honestly, I don't know what to expect, Glavine said. "I'm remaining optimistic that I just popped some scar tissue."
Glavine proved to be pain-free during the two innings that he completed against Carolina. But he felt some discomfort when he swung during a second-inning at-bat and then opted to remove himself while throwing his warmup pitches before the start of the third inning. If everything had gone well during Sunday's outing, Glavine was scheduled to start Saturday's game against the Pirates at PNC Park. Jo-Jo Reyes, who made 22 starts for Atlanta last year, will be promoted from Triple-A Gwinnett to make that start.
The incentive-laden contract that Glavine signed in February includes a $1 million bonus once he is added to the active roster. With this in mind, the Braves are going to make sure his shoulder is sound before they even entertain the notion of adding him to their big league roster.
While repairing a torn flexor tendon in Glavine's left elbow in August, Andrews also took time to clean debris from the left shoulder that has bothered the 300-game winner throughout a majority of his career.
When Glavine reported to Spring Training during the first week of March, he experienced what he described as "shoulder crankiness".
But he gained more flexibility as the month concluded and when he tossed six innings during an intra-squad game with Triple-A Gwinnett last Tuesday, he said he felt that the ball was coming out of his hand better than it had all year.
Mark Bowman is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
