Tyler Thornburg rehab hampered by discomfort, not pain

(Photo by BostonGlobe)
Eric D. Schabell
Contributing Writer

The injury issues in the pitching staff of the Red Sox has been largely overshadowed by news of every move David Price makes during his rehab.

You almost forget about Tyler Thornburg.

Masslive.com talked to Thornburg about his progress in recovering from a right shoulder impingement injury he incurred in Spring Training. Thornburg started a rehab throwing program on 13 April and has still not reached a point to throw off the mound.

He is still feeling some discomfort.

"If I wasn't feeling any discomfort I'd probably be off the mound right now but it's not pain oriented right now," Thornburg said this week at Fenway. "So that's the good part. It's just a matter of building up a little bit with the arm strength."

He's currently throwing long toss at a distance of 120 feet. When asked about the progress, manager John Farrell was careful with his words.

"This one has been coming along gradually. We've kind of used the 150-foot marker as the distance to achieve before getting on the mound. I can tell you he'll be on the mound when he's first ready. And I'm sure he probably wishes it was quicker than it's been. But we have to take into account what the individual guy's feeling."

Thornburg continues to add more velocity with the long toss and expects to be pitching off a mound sometime next week.
(Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

He was acquired in the off season on 6 December for Travis Shaw, Mauricio Dubon and Josh Pennington from the Brewers. Shaw, also known as the Mayor of Ding Dong City, is on a terror with the bat for the Brewers slashing .274/.311 /.571, while the Red Sox have yet to see a game day pitch from their acquisition.

Last year Thornburg posted a 2.15 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 13 saves in 67 appearances over 67 IP for the Brewers.

The question remains, what can Thornburg bring to the bullpen and when?

Post a comment or via twitter @erics_redsox with your thoughts.

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