WASHINGTON (AP) -Washington Nationals right-hander Jason Simontacchi wants a second opinion on his ailing right elbow before getting a second cortisone shot.
Simontacchi, on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to July 16 with elbow tendinitis, will fly to Alabama on Thursday to be examined by Dr. James Andrews.
“It scares you, because I’ve never had a problem with my elbow before. So I don’t know what to expect,” Simontacchi said Wednesday. “It hasn’t gotten any better, it hasn’t gotten any worse. But it doesn’t make any sense for me to go out there when I’m 75 percent or whatever.”
He’s 6-7 with a 6.37 ERA in 13 starts this season, his first in the majors since 2004.
“Maybe it’s a strain and it just needs rest. I don’t know,” Simontacchi said. “We’ll let Dr. Andrews see what’s going on.”
In his last outing, July 15 against Florida, he allowed five runs and nine hits in 4 1-3 innings. Four days later, the Nationals said Simontacchi would miss one start; and the day after that, he went on the DL.
“That last outing, he showed pretty good stuff out there, so I don’t know if he accumulated what over the year, over the season,” manager Manny Acta said. “He didn’t even think himself it was anything serious. But he wants to get a second opinion, and he’s entitled to it.”
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