With teams beginning to shoot for 14-month over 12-month return targets, any Tommy John elbow reconstruction after the All-Star break effectively wipes out both the current and ensuing season. That timetable was firmly in the back of Colin Rea's mind when Dr. James Andrews _ one of the nation's foremost orthopedic surgeons _ recommended a platelet-rich plasma injection over season-ending surgery.
"He even said Tommy John wasn't the 'cure-all' so you might as well give this a try _ especially where we're at in the season," Rea said after receiving his PRP injection on Thursday afternoon in San Diego. "... It's a risk for sure but I think it's a risk we should take. If it works, then it would be 100 times better to be able to pitch next year than be out next year."
Rea will rest for the three to four weeks before beginning a throwing program aimed at having him test his progress this fall in instructional league. The plan will also come with a yet-to-be-determined time table to abort so as not to jeopardize Rea's availability to pitch in 2018 should he ultimately need Tommy John surgery.
Aimed at tapping into the regenerative properties in a human's biochemistry, a PRP injection involves drawing a person's own blood and placing it in a centrifuge to result in a concentrated mix of plasma cells. That sample is then injected into the injured area in hopes of spurring along the healing process.
Cory Spangenberg, Jon Edwards and Cesar Vargas are among the Padres to receive PRP injections this season, although none have returned from their injuries yet. Two years ago, Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka opted for a PRP injection over surgery on the partial thickness tear in his ulnar collateral ligament, rehabbed the injury and has turned in more than 300 innings since his initial diagnosis.
The hope is that the alternate route will allow Rea to pitch right out of the gates in 2017 instead of waiting until 2018.
"I think we'd like to get up to where he's getting after it aggressively (this fall) so you have a real indication of how he feels, if he's dealing with any pain or soreness," Padres manager Andy Green said.
Added Rea: "It's only been 2 { weeks since I've thrown and it already sucks. If I have a chance to pitch next year, I'm going to do whatever I can."
