© Stan Szeto | 2019 Aug 27
It sure didn’t look good when Reyes Moronta crumpled to the ground immediately after throwing a pitch Saturday evening, writhing in pain on the mound at Oracle Park. And that’s because it wasn’t.
Moronta injured the labrum (rubbery tissue) in his right shoulder joint, an MRI revealed on Sunday. Giants manager Bruce Bochy either didn’t know or didn’t specify how serious the tear is, but did say the reliever’s season is over.
“Yeah it’s not great news,” Bochy said after the Giants’ 8-4 loss to the Padres on Sunday afternoon. “Reyes has a labrum injury. Obviously he’s going to be out for the year which is a big blow for us. We’re gonna get some more tests done, get some more opinions and we’ll know which way we’re gonna go. Surgery is an option obviously when you injure that labrum. So we’ll wait to get those opinions.”
Without knowing the severity or if he’ll have surgery, it’s impossible to know how long it will take Moronta to recover, but the hope is that he’d be healthy enough to return by the start of spring training next season, when the 26-year-old is still under team control.
Moronta had another solid season with the Giants in 2019, posting a 2.86 ERA and 1.30 WHIP in 56 relief appearances.