Don’t Worry About Justin Masterson’s Surgery

When the news came out that Justin Masterson had undergone arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder, and Indians fans everywhere had a collective panic attack.

It’s the only natural reaction to the news that the team’s best pitcher had a shoulder injury and had to undergo surgery, and I’ll admit, it was my first instinct too. But before you lose too much sleep over it, know that there’s no real reason to be worried.

I’m not a doctor or a medical expert and I don’t have a source in the surgeon’s office, but it stands to reason that this procedure won’t impede his playing ability too much. Scary as it sounds for a pitcher to have a shoulder injury, remember: Masterson is a right-handed pitcher. Obviously a baseball player needs every part of his body, but the opposite shoulder is one of the most benign places for a pitcher to get hurt. And the Indians expect him to be ready for spring training—there’s no reason to doubt that.

Masterson’s operation sounds nerve-racking on the surface, but there really isn’t much to worry about—knock on wood.