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Casey Sadler Has Been Dealing With Injury Since Spring Training

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Casey Sadler was put on the disabled list on June 24th, retroactive to June 22nd, with a right forearm strain. But the right-handed pitcher admitted that the injury is nothing new.

“It has been there since Spring Training,” Sadler said. “It just kind of progressively got worse. Now, it got to a point where I was trying to compensate for it. It was affecting my outings and we decided better to shut it down.”

In his final start, Sadler allowed 11 hits and 10 earned runs in 4.1 innings of work. In the prior start, Sadler tossed five innings of work with six hits and five runs.

A more alarming stat was that Sadler’s walk rates had skyrocketed over the past month. He allowed 16 walks in his last five outings, after allowing just nine in his first eight starts of the season. The spike in walks could be due to some of the over compensation that he discussed.

While Sadler said that he is dying to not be on the field, he realizes that there is a time when a lengthy ailment just needs some rest. He said that they will see how the arm reacts to some work in the next week or so for a game plan moving forward.

“We are more concerned with the long-term than the short-term right now,” Sadler said. “We’ll give it a few days off, test it, and see where it is at. I am definitely ready to get back out there. It is killing me to not be playing, but sometimes you just have to do what you have to do.”

However, he does not have any expectations. Sadler knows that his health comes first in the long-term, rather than rushing the injury just to get back on the mound before he is ready.

“It is kind of just a wait and see,” Sadler said. “We don’t want to rush anything, but I want to be back ASAP.”

While it was clear that something was not entirely right with Sadler, the DL stint is not a huge surprise. Sadler has been durable in his time with the Pirates, but this is a minor setback as he was one of the top promotion candidates.

Time will tell if this issue prevents Sadler in the short-term or if it is minor roadblock. Either way, it is clear that he will be out until the pain has subsided.

Ryan Palencer
Ryan Palencer
Ryan has been following Indianapolis baseball for most of his life, and the Pirates since they became the affiliate in 2005. He began writing for Pirates Prospects in 2013, in a stint that ran through 2016 (with no service time manipulation played in). Ryan rejoined the team in 2022, covering Indianapolis once again. He has covered the Pirates in four different big league stadiums. Ryan was also fortunate enough to cover the 2015 Futures Game in Cincinnati.

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