Former Pittsburgh Pirates Starting Pitcher Experiencing Lockout Ripple

Major League Baseball has been in a lockout since the start of December. But a former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher is suffering from a negative side affect from the lockout.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past month, then you already know that Major League Baseball is currently at a stand-still because of the lockout. No major league team can interact with major-league players, so that means that no major league contracts are being signed. However, there is a ripple effect to this, and this ripple effect is impacting a former pitcher of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Jameson Taillon is feeling this ripple effect. The right-hander was traded from the Pirates to the New York Yankees last off-season. He pitched 144.1 innings and posted a 4.30 ERA, 4.44 FIP, and 1.21 WHIP. All told, he was about a league-average performer on the mound.

However, his performance is beside the point. Taillon was limited to just 144.1 innings because of an ankle tendon injury. This caused him to miss most of September. At the end of the season, Taillon was forced to undergo ankle surgery to fully repair the tendon.

MLB Trade Rumors recently wrote a report about his current condition based on the Athletic’s report on the right-hander. The tendon he needed to repair was a longus tendon, which according to him “is such a rare injury for pitchers”. But because players cannot interact with team personnel, this also means that personnel like medical and training staff cannot see Taillon every day.

According to Taillon, “the Yankees’ strength department wrote a program for me, but they don’t get to see me every day”. He isn’t without help as he said he has strength and conditioning coaches back at home, but the point remains: the lockout is preventing players from properly communicating to their teams about their injury rehab.

It’s even worse for Taillon once you consider the rarity of his injury. The injury is so rare, the exact timetable for his return is unknown and roughly estimated to be about a month behind usual schedule. That means he’d likely miss most, if not all of April.

MLB needs to at least consider letting medical, training, and strength and conditioning staff work with players this off-season, through the lockout. As we saw this past season, many players were injured, many stemming from the short 60-game season in 2020 and thrown directly back into a 162 game season in 2021.

It’s another disappointing development for Taillon who seemingly can not catch a break with his health. But there’s a bigger issue at play here. The lockout is preventing Taillon from properly communicating with the Yankees about his rehab and injury. I’m sure other players are suffering from this, however, Taillon is one of the more notable names and recently reported ones as well.