www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/mlb/reds/2017/07/29/cincinnati-reds-knew-dilson-herrera-could-need-surgery-before-trading-him/522919001/On Tuesday, Cincinnati Reds second base prospect Dilson Herrera will undergo surgery to remove bone spurs from his right shoulder. The Reds hope the procedure once and for all will take care of the persistent shoulder issues that have plagued the 23-year-old since before he joined the Reds a year ago.
Herrera has said he originally hurt the shoulder by sleeping on it in a funny position on the team bus while in Triple-A with the New York Mets last year.
The Reds were aware of his issues when discussing Herrera as part of the return in the Jay Bruce trade, and team medical director Dr. Timothy Kremchek said the organization knew such a surgery could eventually be required.
“We saw what he had and we knew what he had,” said Kremchek, who will perform the procedure.
Kremchek said the Reds hoped that Herrera wouldn’t need surgery, but Kremchek was confident he could fix he issue if it came to that. Removing bone spurs from a shoulder is not as serious an issue as repairing a torn labrum or other common shoulder operations, and Kremchek expects Herrera to be throwing about four months after going under the knife.
But the Reds didn’t want to jump to the nuclear option of surgery before they had to. They first tried a route of rest and rehab. Herrera missed a stretch of time after being acquired at last year’s deadline to rest the shoulder, and was again limited to serving as the designated hitter in spring training. During spring, the Reds also put him on a strict strength regimen in order to fix imbalances in his shoulder muscles.
Herrera did not start the year with Triple-A Louisville, but played 58 games in the field when he did join the team. He missed time in June because of a concussion, but the shoulder did not force him from action again until earlier this month. Initially, the Reds thought he’d be back in relatively short order. Last week, that opinion changed.
Having determined that rest wasn’t likely to solve the issue by itself, the Reds decided to be proactive and attempt to fix the shoulder with surgery. Doing so at the beginning of August should allow Herrera to be full-go before spring training even starts. It’s important that he is, since Herrera will be out of minor-league options and must be on the major-league roster if healthy.
“We need to be aggressive with this, get him right, get him comfortable and in shape so he can come to spring training next year and vie for a position,” Kremchek said. “That’s why I think you have to be smart at this particular time. If this were a playoff run, certainly we would do other things. But I think you’ve got to pack your bags with a guy like this.”
Kremchek said it’s possible that other problems in Herrera’s shoulder could become apparent once the surgery begins. MRIs and x-rays show only so much. But if bone spurs are indeed the only issue, Kremchek is confident in Herrera’s ability to come back from them.
Still, the Reds now have put themselves in a tough position for 2018. Despite their confidence in the medical staff, they acquired a player with known medical issues who now must play in the majors in 2018 without having shown any sort of hint that he’s ready.
Herrera played in just 24 games for Triple-A Louisville a year ago, and posted just a .709 OPS in 68 minor-league games this year. On top of that, he will be coming off surgery, making his 2018 performance even less bankable.
The other player in the Bruce trade, rookie-level left-hander Max Wotell, also has undergone shoulder surgery this year. Unlike Herrera, his issue did not predate his acquisition. But his procedure, a labrum repair, is also more serious.
Reds general manager candlestick Williams said the team will review its decision-making on the deal, although he added that’s not an uncommon step to take for any big transaction.
“We do that often, where you sort of review the process that you went through and review the decisions that were made,” Williams said. “They’re tough decisions and they’re not always clear-cut when you’re talking surgery versus rehab. Our medical staff makes the best recommendations they can make.”
