The Oakland Athletics are hoping they’ve dodged a bullet midway through their 2011 Spring Training campaign. Andrew Bailey doubled over with what appeared to be elbow pain a couple days ago, which led to him flying to Alabama to visit with noted doctor James Andrews. However, for now it appears the A’s and Bailey may have dodged a bullet. The preliminary news from the examination is that he suffered a strained forearm and “experienced no swelling and can resume throwing when asymptomatic.”
This is certainly better than Bailey requiring additional elbow surgery or anything along those lines. It’s possible this diagnosis could change at some point, but for now Bailey would seem to simply need some rest. No matter what the final diagnosis, I’d have to imagine the A’s will be extra cautious in bringing him back. Aside from needing to return to asymptomatic they don’t want to rush anything given Bailey’s role with the team and past elbow issues. Furthermore, with Brian Fuentes and Grant Balfour added to the bullpen the A’s can afford to go with a backup option at closer in the short term.