The once-promising career of Mark Prior has hit another speed bump, as the current San Diego Padres pitcher is set to have season-ending surgery on his right shoulder.
What a bright young star Prior once was when he led the Cubs to within an inning of the World Series.
But since then, everything has been downhill. Prior has not pitched since 2006, when he went 1-7 with a 7.21 ERA for Chicago. The Padres do not know when or if he will be coming back to their rotation.
It is time for the 27-year-old Prior to make a decision: Either leave baseball for good or make a change.
Assuming he does not retire, Prior must do something—because as easy and effortless his pitching form seems, after multiple surgeries he has nothing left in his right arm.
But that does not mean his career is over. Prior was always a very competent hitter and is a great athlete, who could pull off a switch similar to the one Rick Ankiel made with the Cardinals.
Another pitcher who showed great promise transitioned to fielder and excelled. Envisioning a similar situation with Prior is not hard.
While it would not be an easy transition by any means, it is Prior's last resort if he hopes to stay in the Major Leagues.
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4 months ago
Great idea Dakota and nice article. Becoming an everyday player might be Prior's last resort. However, if he has so much trouble simply throwing a baseball while stable on a mound, how much of an injury risk will he be running around in the outfield and running the bases? Yikes!
from 4 months ago
Hey Sam thanks. Very good point. There is no telling what will happen to the guy which is so sad because after watching him his first years in Chicago people were talking hof. I guess that is the way things go. But even with the injury issues I think he could be a decent outfielder and hitter - hopefully for at least 50 games before injury.
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