Dejan reports that both Jimmy Barthmaier (one month) and Bryan Morris (four to six weeks) will miss extended time with arm injuries. This is a pretty substantial blow for an organization with very few pitching prospects. This is particularly true for Morris, who has impressive upside if he can manage to stay healthy. Unfortunately, he has not shown that he is capable of doing that. He was less than a year removed from Tommy John surgery when the Pirates acquired him late last season, and I have lost count of the injuries he has sustained since joining the organization.
If we are looking for a bright side, Morris’s injury could have been worse. After yesterday’s game, Neal Huntington described the injury as being similar to the issue Matt Capps endured last season. In both cases, the Pirates were able to catch it before something more significant, such as a torn rotator cuff, occurred. I suspect that both Capps and Morris would have had their careers derailed if the former management team was still currently in place.
