It would be a pretty staggering blow for just about any Major League team to lose two pitchers from the starting rotation at the same time. It would be particularly crippling for the Pirates, who really only have five even remotely capable starters in the entire organization. That's the situation they faced yesterday after putting Phil Dumatrait on the disabled list with a shoulder problem, then watching Ian Snell leave his start early with elbow discomfort. Today both starters went into the hospital for exams (Snell an arthogram, Dumatrait an MRI) and the Pirates got some good news; neither pitcher has any structural damage in their pitching arms. Snell has "golfer's elbow" and might miss a start, while Dumatrait has bursitis, but no real damage to his rotator cuff. He should be ready to go when his DL stint is up on July 5th.
Of course, this is only middling good news for the Pirates. Snell has been flat out terrible this year and a little bit of golfer's elbow doesn't seem to be enough of an injury to explain his struggles. Dumatrait and his 4.66 ERA is probably the most pleasant surprise on the Pirates' staff, which is more than depressing. Still, both of them being reasonably healthy means that John Van Benschoten won't be getting a ton of starts in the near future. Let's be thankful for small favors.
