Marco Gonzales out for rest of season for Mariners, set to have forearm surgery
SEATTLE, WA - MAY 23: Starter Marco Gonzales #7 of the Seattle Mariners delivers a pitch during a game against the Oakland Athletics at T-Mobile Park on May 23, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. The Mariners won 3-2. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Image
SEATTLE - Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Marco Gonzales will miss the remainder of the season as he is set to undergo surgery to address the ongoing nerve issue in his left forearm.
"It’s been recommended and I’ve committed and decided to get a procedure done to decompress the nerve in my forearm," Gonzales said in delivering the news on Sunday. "This comes after a lengthy process of trying to find answers, doing a lot of testing, MRIs, CTs, conservative treatments, injections, the list goes on.
"It hasn't been an easy process. It's been super frustrating to not have an answer and to be searching. It's just not the place you want to be. It's unfortunate news. Obviously, I wanted to avoid surgery at all costs, but this is necessary, we believe, to right the problem so we're going to move forward with that on the 22nd."
Gonzales will have the surgery with Dr. Steven Shin in Los Angeles. Shin is the same doctor that performed the surgery to repair the torn ligament in Cal Raleigh's thumb at the end of last season.
"He is the one who recommended that we get this kind of cleaned out," Gonzales said of Shin. "It’s not a repair surgery procedure. It’s a clean out. This is going to officially end my 2023, but this gives me the best chance to move forward and get past this, so it doesn’t happen any further and gives me my best chance to be ready for spring training in 2024."
Gonzales was placed on the 15-day injured list on June 3 with a left flexor strain. He began to experience discomfort during a start against the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 28.
"It just became harder and harder to get loose each inning," Gonzales said. "I felt some achy soreness in my forearm and then in the middle of it and basically ever since then, each time I go to throw a baseball I feel this aching, sore pain in the middle of my forearm."
As the issue persisted, Gonzales sought more consultations about what he was dealing with. A visit with Dr. Neal ElAttrache – who performed the Tommy John surgery on Gonzales in 2016 – pointed toward a nerve issue rather than a flexor strain. The Mariners shut him down for weeks at a time hoping the injury would subside. Instead, it just kept flaring up and wasn't improving.
"It just confusing and frustrating," he said. "It felt like we would be on to something and the treatment would be working. And each step we were just using the information that we had from the tests that we were doing, trying to come up with a treatment plan. I’d get to day one of throwing and have to shut it down because we’re right back in the same spot. It was kind of a lost feeling."
Gonzales said it is his anterior interosseous nerve that is the root of the problem.
"Basically it’s the compression of that nerve and that nerve controls motor function for pronating your wrist and your index finger, which is very important for a pitcher," Gonzales said.
"It's somewhat rare (in pitchers)," Gonzales said. "There’s been a couple of pitchers who I’ve reached out to who’ve had the surgery and thankfully have had great success with it. Scott Alexander from the Giants and Brandon Morrow both had it done by Dr. Shin as well and (they) highly recommended him. They've given me great advice to move forward with it to get it cleaned out because it's really worked for them.
"Thankfully, we’re talking about a few months and we’re not talking about a year rehab process. This does give me my best chance to have a normal offseason which is great news overall. I’ll be able to hit my normal throwing time for the year to start next spring training."
Gonzales made 10 starts this season for the Mariners. He posted a 4-1 record with a 5.22 ERA with 18 walks and 34 strikeouts in 50 innings pitched. The Mariners went 7-3 in Gonzales' 10 starts this season.
Gonzales is set to enter the final year of his contract with the Mariners next season.