Are Increased Pitcher Injuries Actually The Fault Of MLB Teams?

There's been a dramatic increase in pitcher injuries over the past 5-10 years, with nearly every big name pitcher suffering some kind of arm-related injury.

Jacob deGrom, Clayton Kershaw, Shane McClanahan, Dustin May, Shohei Ohtani, Sandy Alcantara, Tyler Glasnow have all undergone major arm surgery just in the past few seasons. Other, non-arm related injuries have cost big name players like Max Scherzer time too, with the 39-year-old Texas Rangers star currently rehabbing from a surgery to repair a herniated disc. 

There's been speculation as to the cause of the increase in injuries, but one doctor has what he believes is an explanation: and it's all the fault of Major League Baseball teams. 

Texas Rangers head team physician, Dr. Keith Meister, told Ken Rosenthal at The Athletic that teams are making injuries more common by attempting to squeeze every ounce of available performance ahead of keeping them on the field as long as possible.

Meister also told The Athletic that he's expecting to repair well over 230 elbow ligaments this year, while warning that the current Tommy John surgeries now last for just a few years.  

"We used to say, you get your one TJ, you’re good. Then it was, you get 10 years out of one. Then it was seven to eight," Meister said. "Now guys break down in three to five, depending upon who they are, the stuff they have, what they throw."

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Merrill Kelly (29) yells into his glove after leaving the game with 12-strike-outs due to an injury against the Colorado Rockies in the eighth inning at Chase Field in Phoenix on Sept. 4, 2023.

Front Offices To Blame For MLB Pitcher Injuries?

He continued, saying that a focus on winning now is leading teams to take a suboptimal direction for pitcher injuries.

"These front offices, unfortunately, are living more in the moment than taking a longer, broader-term view," Meister said. "There is a way to manage this. What if a guy doesn’t have a WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) of 0.8. What if he has a WHIP of 1.1 but he’s able to play 162?"

Meister has more inside information, particularly with regards to injuries, than the average observer. But there's blame to be spread around when it comes to the dramatic increase in injuries. Pitchers themselves will undoubtedly want to improve to the best of their abilities, and as hitters get better thanks to data, training and swing mechanic improvements, there's an arms race (no pun intended) to throw harder and with more spin.

Some of this might be entirely unavoidable; throwing a baseball is an unnatural motion, especially at the speeds prevalent in the modern game. And pitchers are now taught to come to their teams as soon as they feel discomfort, as opposed to years past when pitching through injuries was seen as a valuable commodity. Diagnosing arm issues is also easier than ever, as opposed to say, Sandy Koufax's era when he was forced to retire at just 30 years old thanks to recurring pain and injuries.

So where does this leave us for the future? Well, teams aren't likely to change course; while they'd love to reduce injuries, most front offices have started to accept them as the cost of doing business. The era of five man rotations throwing 200+ innings is firmly behind us, with modern organizations like the Los Angeles Dodgers accumulating 6-8 starters, assuming that some will miss time throughout the season.

Higher performance over say, 120-140 innings is preferred over 200+ innings of mediocre velocities and spin rates. Enjoy your favorite pitchers while they last, cause it's probably not going to be for very long.