The two top teams in the MLB have been dealing with injuries as of late. The St. Louis Cardinals experienced a scary situation with rookie outfielder Stephen Piscotty and the Kansas City Royals ruled closer Greg Holland out for the season.
There's good news for the Cardinals. Piscotty, after being involved in a horrific collision with fellow outfielder Peter Bourjos on Monday night, was released from the hospital on Tuesday, according to Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com.
Piscotty and Bourjos collided in the outfield when going after a fly ball. Bourjos made the catch and his knee hit Piscotty in the face. He was carted off the field after being knocked unconscious.
The rookie underwent a neurological exam and MRI this morning (both of which came back negative) before being diagnosed with a mild concussion. He'll now be subject to the MLB's concussion protocol, but Cardinals' general manager John Mozeliak expects Piscotty back on the field soon.
"I think the good news is he probably will play again in the regular season," Mozeliak said, via Langosch. "I think the decision will be based on how he feels and what he wants to do as well. The game is about feel and timing, so if it makes sense to get him in and he feels up to it, I think we would probably do it."
However, the news isn't so great for the Kansas City Royals.
As expected, Holland will undergo Tommy John surgery on Friday in Los Angeles and Dr. Neal ElAttrache of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic will perform the procedure, according to Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star. Because the surgery came so late in the season, Holland likely won't pitch in another MLB game until 2017.
Holland was ruled out for the season last week after the right-hander was dealing with velocity issues and elbow discomfort. Holland said he told the team's medical staff he did not want to undergo an MRI last season when he began to experience pain in his elbow.
"The Royals believe Holland suffered the injury in early September 2014, when the training staff initially diagnosed Holland with likely ligament damage," McCullough added. "Holland chose to pitch instead of surgery, and posted a 0.82 ERA for the Royals in their first playoff appearance since 1985."
Wade Davis has since taken over as the Royals' closer as the team is bound for the postseason for the second consecutive year.
The next issue is Holland's contract situation, which remains unclear at this point. He's eligible for his final year of arbitration in 2016 and will hit free agency in 2017, so Kansas City will likely look to sign him to a multi-year deal considering he will not pitch in 2016.
