JoshuaTheAT tells us what Bregman was likely dealing with and what is next.
In case, you missed the JoshuaTheAT announcement, click here
We will start with Alex Bregman. Many Astros fans, including myself were disappointed with Bregman’s playoff performance this year. According to Baseball Reference he lowered the Astros championship win probability by 5.7% in the World Series. Compared to adding 23.1% in 2017. I think many people suspected an injury and on November 1st Carlos Correa alluded to this. What makes this more evident is Bregman’s comments about his top hand during the World Series, telling Ken Rosenthal he had a weak top hand. All of this makes sense. Any injury to the wrist will decrease grip strength because the muscles that control grip strength start on the forearm, cross the wrist, and end on the hand.
So what do we think this injury actually is? Based on the announcement from the team of resuming baseball activities in 6-10 weeks, I believe he had a Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex Tear (TFCC). The TFCC is analogous to the meniscus of the knee, it provides cushion and support for the wrist. An injury to this area has difficult time healing on its own, just like the meniscus of the knee, because it has very poor blood supply. Bregman was able probably able to finish the season because he’s a tough SOB and willed himself across the finish line. Recovery from surgery from these tears are totally dependent on the severity and location of the injury. There are numerous types of tears and ways to fix them, I’m not going to bore you with those details as I am extremely unqualified to talk about them. I would expect Alex to be in a splint anywhere from 2-6 weeks and then gradually return to full activity. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him with a brace during the first part of Spring Training, but I don’t think this will impact his regular season. Hopefully Alex can put the injury woes behind him after this recovery and returns back to the 7 WAR and MVP candidate he was in 2018 and 2019.
For those wanting disclaimers and keyboard lawyer types- From JoshuaTheAT
A disclaimer about everything I write: This is all speculation. I can give my opinion on a situation but there are times I will be dead wrong. Evaluating an athlete in front of you can be difficult at times, so doing it from in front of a screen is next to impossible. But I think I can give you an informed opinion/a rough estimation of what to expect regarding severity and recovery time for a given injury. Again: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. I WILL BE WRONG. When I get something wrong I will be the first person to admit it.
If you liked this article or any of the others here, you really should subscribe to LarryTheGM.com (Below the header and above the articles). You will get notified of new content and you can use the chat feature. The offseason is some of the best time for the content I will bring at LarryTheGM.com.