The elbow sprain that landed Wei-Yin Chen on the disabled list adds another level of intrigue to the Miami Marlins' quest to upgrade their starting pitching in the week leading to the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline.
Publicly, manager Don Mattingly said Monday that his level of concern "right now it's not so bad. Obviously, we don't want to have to deal with this for the course of the season.
"At this point it doesn't really sound that serious. It's a matter of giving him a little break and getting him back. If it would extend, then I guess I should be more concerned."
Chen was placed on the disabled list retroactive to July 21, the day after he gave up four runs and 11 hits in 5 1/3 innings at Philadelphia.
In the aftermath, he said, "It's true that I didn't feel as well as in my last outing tonight," adding that his fastball wasn't as effective, "but why they hit me well I don't really have an explanation."
There was a dip in Chen's fastball velocity later in the outing. And he subsequently reported tenderness in the elbow, which prompted the DL stint.
It wasn't the first time Chen experienced discomfort, according to Mattingly.
"It sounds like he had a little soreness right before the [All-Star] break, and he thought the 10 days [off] would do him well," Mattingly said. "He felt pretty good in St. Louis [on July 15]. And then the second [outing] he felt a little bit and knew it was something he had to let somebody know about."
Any time a pitcher experiences elbow discomfort there is cause for concern.
Chen, 31, had no significant arm issues during his four seasons with Baltimore, though he missed about six weeks with an oblique strain in 2013. But he had Tommy John surgery after developing an elbow ailment while pitching in Japan when he was 21.
Rumors have already surfaced that there is concern within the Marlins organization that the left-hander could be facing surgery again.
That certainly wouldn't benefit the team's bargaining position in seeking to obtain another starting pitcher before the deadline, which Michael Hill, president of baseball operations, said last week is a priority.
Mattingly was vague about the tests Chen has undergone.
"I think he's getting an MRI _ or I think he's already had an MRI," Mattingly said. Asked if they were awaiting the results, he said, "I'm sure they have the results, I'd just rather them give you the info on whatever they're calling it. I think Michael [Hill] called it an elbow sprain."
