Jake Arrieta was pummeled by the Mets lineup over four-plus innings last night as he surrendered 11 hits and five earned runs in a frustrating 6-5 loss at Citi Field. The rough outing was the latest in what has been a string of them for Arrieta, who has a 6.27 ERA while allowing opposing batters to hit .314 with a .914 OPS over 33 IP dating back to the start of June. He also plunked Todd Frazier–with an 85.1 mph changeup–causing this ridiculous reaction by Frazier and Mets manager Mickey Callaway:

Mickey Callaway. What an absolute zero that guy is.

The dust up led to equally ridiculous postgame comments from Arrieta in which he threatened to put a dent in Frazier’s skull. Now comes a report this morning from Ken Rosenthal and Matt Gelb of The Athletic that Arrieta has been pitching with a bone spur in his right elbow.

More, after the jump.

According to the report, Arrieta will likely need surgery, though it remains unclear when that would occur or to what extent the injury is impacting his performance. Judging by his numbers, the answer would seem to be quite a bit–or he’s just ineffective at this point. Either way, this is a concerning development for both a 33-year-old pitcher in decline and the team that’s likely on the hook for his $20 million 2020 player option.

As I wrote the other day, the Phillies are more than one move away from making a legit playoff run, so the possibility of losing another arm, however mediocre it may be at the moment, would be a tough blow. Dating back to June 1, Phillies starters have a 5.25 ERA and an NL-worst 5.21 FIP. Cole Irvin or Enyel De Los Santos aren’t going to fix that.

For the Phillies, this news is just the latest possible injury blow in what has been a season full of them. Matt Klentak is in an unenviable position right now with the trade deadline just a little more than three weeks away and no obvious fix in sight for a third-place team that is just 9-16 over its last 25 games.