Phillies

Jake Arrieta Says He Pitched With a Torn Meniscus

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Feb 14th, 2019 · 3:10 PM EST

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Jake Arrieta started strong last season, then fell off.

Apparently that’s because he had a torn meniscus, according to him. He spoke with reporters about it at Spring Training today:

Jake Arrieta said he pitched the second half of last season with a torn meniscus. He expects to be ready for the start of the season after having surgery last month.

— Matt Breen (@matt_breen) February 14, 2019

That doesn’t match up with what Gabe Kapler said yesterday, that Arrieta hurt his knee during an offseason weight-lifting program.

Conflicting timelines here:

Gabe Kapler said he didn't know Jake Arrieta had injured his left knee until January. Arrieta said he tweaked the knee in June. Kapler: "Jake’s a tough individual, so he’s not the kind of guy who’s going to let on that something’s bugging him b/c there’s a lot of pride there."

— Scott Lauber (@ScottLauber) February 14, 2019

For context, here’s how Arrieta began the season vs. how he ended the season, courtesy of BWanks:

• April and May: 58.1 innings pitched, 2.16 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, .224 BAA, allowed a .601 OPS
• June onward: 114.1 innings pitched, 4.88 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, .263 BAA, allowed a .783 OPS

Arrieta had a rough June, then rebounded in July, but ultimately his post 6/1 numbers were much different than what he was doing in April and May.

More from Matt Gelb, after the jump:

Arrieta said he made the knee situation "work the best I could" during the season. He believes the timing of the surgery was fortuitous: pic.twitter.com/w4nQmN3VBm

— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) February 14, 2019

All of that might seem strange, considering the fact that Arrieta was running, turning, and cutting on the beach back in July:

@JArrieta34 doesn’t believe in off days 💪🏼even on our only “weekend” during the season… he has no idea I filmed this 😬🙃 #allstarbreak2018 pic.twitter.com/Osa9aItspb

— Brittany Arrieta (@MrsArrieta49) July 17, 2018

Alright. Well, like he said, he was able to put all of his weight on the knee, move side to side, and handle the workload. And if he’s no longer experiencing knee pain, then… let’s play ball!