Mariners RHP Shae Simmons has flexor strain; rehab slowed down
Mar 28, 2017, 11:36 AM

Mariners pitcher Shae Simmons has suffered a setback, being diagnosed with a flexor strain. (AP)
(AP)
PEORIA, Ariz. – Mariners reliever Shae Simmons, who appeared to have an excellent chance of filling a significant role in Seattle’s bullpen before he was removed from his outing March 11 after feeling forearm soreness, has suffered what Scott Servais called a little bit of a setback in his recovery.
“It’s just probably going to be a little slower than we anticipated,” Servais said. “It’s a flexor strain; we are going to be cautious. It’s not progressing like our medical people hoped, so we are going to slow him down a little bit.”
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A MRI taken the day after the injury showed no structural damage. Simmons was shut down to let the inflammation in his forearm subside, then started playing catch a week later. While the catch sessions initially went well, Simmons said something hasn’t felt right as of late.
“Whenever I’m not throwing, it feels great,” Simmons said Tuesday morning in the Mariners clubhouse. “When I am throwing, it will start to fatigue out on me.”
Simmons has been through Tommy John surgery and the ensuing recovery, so he knows there can be bumps in the road to returning.
“It’s out of my control,” he said. “I’ve had a streak of unfortunate events. It’s not structural, so worst-case scenario I take a little time off, start throwing, get back to where I need to be and hopefully be able to help the team out wherever it is at within the next few weeks or month – whatever it takes.”