Josiah Gray

Saturday hit Major League Baseball with some of its worst injury news in recent memory.That morning, the Cleveland Guardians announced pitcher Shane Bieber needed Tommy John surgery. Bieber opened the year with two terrific outings and didn't appear to be in pain, so the news came out of nowhere. He spent his offseason working on adding throwing velocity and sharpening secondary pitches.As the Bieber news broke, the baseball world was already awaiting MRI results on the right elbow of Atlanta Braves ace Spencer Strider, who was roughed up in his Friday start, pitching with diminished velocity and citing elbow pain afterward. Late Saturday afternoon, Braves manager Brian Snitker told assembled media the MRI "wasn't good." Strider could be headed for his second Tommy John surgery. Matthew Grimes Jr. / Getty ImagesSunday morning, promising young Marlins starter Eury P rez underwent Tommy John surgery, which reconstructs the UCL in a pitcher's throwing elbow. The hits kept coming Tuesday: Boston's Nick Pivetta and Washington's Josiah Gray were placed on the IL with flexor strains, and Houston's Framber Valdez hit the IL with elbow inflammation. To many, it seems like the sky's falling on major-league pitchers and their elbows.The usual suspects are being cited, like increased pitch velocity, often from max-effort deliveries. There's concern that year-round throwing and velocity-building programs place too much stress on arms. These issues extend down to the youth level. The Major League Baseball Players Association also released a statement outlining its concerns about the pitch clock, which debuted last year and was trimmed for this season; the PA doesn't believe the impact of reduced time between pitches has been properly studied. Some believe the policing of sticky stuff places more stress on pitchers' joints as they try to grip the ball effectively.There certainly are more stresses in the modern game that likely contribute to injury, but the truth is that while this spring is bad for elbow injuries, it's always been this way in recent years. It's always bad.While star-level names might make this year feel worse, this spring isn't an outlier, according to theScore's examination of Jon Roegele's Tommy John database.!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r

Gray has landed on the IL with a flexor strain in his right arm

Nationals opening day starter Josiah Gray has been placed on the 15-day injured list with a right elbow and forearm problem, the latest in a wave of top pitchers dealing with elbow issues this year.

Gray has landed on the IL with a flexor strain in his right arm

The Washington Nationals have placed opening day starter Josiah Gray on the 15-day injured list on Tuesday with a right elbow and forearm problem.