Ryan Braun Injury: Updates on Brewers Star's Thumb Surgery and Recovery

Updates from Wednesday, Nov. 26

Adam McCalvy of MLB.com has an update on Ryan Braun's status from the slugger himself:

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“It definitely worked,” Braun said Wednesday, when the Brewers right fielder took part in a Thanksgiving food drive at Miller Park. “It makes a huge difference.”

[...]

“Right now, I don’t feel any [discomfort], and I haven’t been able to say that for two years,” he said. “I think I’ve told you guys, it [bothered him] shaking hands, writing — you know, just everyday activities. Now I don’t feel it at all, so I’m excited.”

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Braun tempered his own excitement, per McCalvy:

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“I’m encouraged by how it feels, but at the same time, I think I have to be cautiously optimistic [until] I get into Spring Training and see how it responds,” Braun said. “But it hasn’t felt this good in a really long time.”

Braun said he had 100 percent medical clearance for all offseason activities, but has been taking a break from baseball since his initial round of hitting following surgery. He will resume his regular offseason routine in late December.

“I’m excited,” Braun said, “but at the same time, I went into last year and felt really good in Spring Training. For the first four of five weeks, it felt great, I played great, and then kind of re-injured it. But last year we also just rested it. We didn’t do a procedure. So I’m optimistic and excited. I feel like I have to be somewhat cautiously optimistic until we start playing a little bit. …

“I don’t think there’s enough information out there on the procedure to have any specific knowledge of how it’s going to respond or how long it will work or anything like that. We’re just trying to figure it out as we go.”

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Updates from Monday, Nov. 3

Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel provides a statement from Brewers general manager Doug Melvin discussing Ryan Braun's recovery from thumb surgery:

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He has taken some batting practice off a pitcher. It's not like he's playing every day. You're not going to get a good feel and judgment on it until then, when you're playing every day, seven days a week, taking BP and all that. That's the true test.

But, right now, it sounds like everything is great. He's just going to let it go through the normal healing process.

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Updates from Monday, Oct. 13

MLB.com's Adam McCalvy has the latest on Braun's recovery:

Updates from Tuesday, Oct. 7

Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has the latest on Braun's status:

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The Brewers’ rightfielder returned Monday for a follow-up visit with physician Vernon Williams, who performed a cryotherapy procedure on Braun’s ailing right thumb last Thursday at the Kerlan-Jobe Clinic in Los Angeles.

Brewers assistant general manager Gord Ash said Braun was given the go-ahead to swing a bat by Williams but didn't think he would try to hit until later in the week.

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Updates from Thursday, Oct. 2

The Brewers announced that Braun had undergone surgery on Thursday:

Original Text

Ryan Braun will attempt to fix a thumb injury that has limited him for most of the 2014 season.

According to The Associated Press (via ESPN), the Milwaukee Brewers outfielder will undergo surgery to correct the problem:

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Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun is scheduled to have surgery this week to fix a nagging nerve problem near his right thumb. [...]

Braun said Sunday the rare procedure involved going into the thumb and freezing the nerve. The problem, which carried over from the 2013 season, affected his swing.

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Braun noted this issue was a big reason for his struggles this season, via Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

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I feel like if I was anywhere close to healthy, if I'm at 80-90% and do anywhere near what I expect myself, we'd be in a different position as a team. I don't want this to be something that people think I'm using as an excuse. I have not had a good year; I have not played well. I have not done things that I expect of myself and the standard that I've set for playing this game over the first seven years of my career.

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The former National League MVP had one of the worst seasons of his career, hitting just 19 home runs with 81 RBI in 134 games. His .268 batting average was a career low while his .780 OPS was over 100 points below his career average.

Meanwhile, the Brewers suffered as well, finishing 82-80 and out of the playoffs after a miserable final month of the season.

Milwaukee and Braun will certainly hope this surgery is successful and Braun can get back to reaching his potential.

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