Rockies pitcher Chase Dollander appears to have avoided the worst
· Yahoo Sports
On Friday afternoon, Colorado Rockies right-handed pitcher Chase Dollander spoke with the media about a right elbow injury that led to him being removed from yesterday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates and being placed on the 15-day injured list today.
Dollander described his injury as “just a very minor UCL sprain. That’s just what the MRI showed. I have a little information around the ligament, nothing to be too concerned about. Just thanking God that it wasn’t more than that. Obviously, it’s probably the best case scenario. Trying to look at the positive side.”
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This comes as good news for both Rockies fans and for Dollander, who looked despondent in the locker room after yesterday’s game.
“If anything happens in that area, your mind automatically goes to the worst case scenario,” Dollander explained. “But you know, as I started to sit with it and talk to some people, I kind of knew going into the MRI this morning that it probably wasn’t what I thought it was. So again, thank God that it wasn’t. This could be a very different conversation.”
Dollander mentioned that he had experienced some discomfort following his last start against the Philadelphia Phillies.
“I started to feel it right after the Philly start, but as I threw it kind of went away,” he said.
“And then for whatever reason [on Thursday] it just never went away. So I’m glad the trainer saw it and came out and got me because, me, I would have stayed out there and possibly could have blown myself out.”
Dollander told the media he spoke with his agent, his off-season pitching coach, and some of his other friends. They helped assuage his concerns.
“They all said typically it’s just one pitch, one moment, and you feel a nervy kind of sensation in your fingers,” described Dollander. “I never felt that.”
He further discussed the advice he got that helped him calm down.
“It’s the worst-case scenario, you know, but that’s where my head was at with it,” Dollander said. “I never want to say it (Tommy John), but they were just trying to calm my nerves and stuff. So it helped a lot.”
One of the friends Dollander spoke to was two-time Tampa Bay Rays All-Star Shane McClanahan. Dollander has been mentored by McClanahan and trains with him during the off-season. McClanahan has had Tommy John surgery twice, most recently missing the 2024 season because of it.
“He reached out to me and made sure I was okay,” Dollander said. “He just told me ‘Don’t overthink it. Just wait for the results and go from there. He’s very good with advice like that.”
Dollander was placed on the 15-day injured list this afternoon, though he doesn’t know when he’ll return to action.
“We’re still waiting for some answers and some things like that,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll have a timetable here soon, but the main thing is just not to rush, to make sure it doesn’t turn into something it doesn’t need to be.”
The 24-year-old former ninth overall pick also took a moment to reflect on his season so far.
“The past couple of outings haven’t really gone the way I intended them to go,” he said. “But I’m just constantly learning, constantly on the attack, and making sure that I am where I need to be. I feel like so far it’s been good, but there’s definitely room for improvements there.”
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