PHOENIX -- D-backs right-hander Shelby Miller has been diagnosed with a strained flexor tendon and a partial tear of his ulnar collateral ligament.Miller is evaluating his options, which include things like stem cell treatment, platelet rich plasma therapy and Tommy John surgery.
"News came back from all the doctors and I have a forearm flexor strain and a partial tear of my UCL," Miller said. "So just kind of gathering all that and seeing where I'm going to go from there. Still haven't made a decision on what I'm going to do yet. Just seeing all the options that are available and what scenarios are best for me and the team. Just kind of still processing it."
Regardless of which option he ends up going with, Miller will be out for an extended period. While avoiding Tommy John surgery sounds appealing, the risk is that if he goes with a different treatment and it turns out that three or four months from now it is learned the alternate approach didn't work, then he will still have to have the surgery and it will push his return back even further.
"Never would I want to have to get that done," Miller said of Tommy John surgery. "It's just putting together what is best. How am I going to come back stronger? If I do other options, is there an opportunity where it might not work out and I'd eventually have to get it done? It's not going to be an easy decision for me."
Steve Gilbert /MLB.com
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