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| Meche in action at Rosenblatt last week. (Photo: Eldon Lindsay/oroyals.com) |
Last Monday, Meche made a rehab start in Omaha hoping it would be his last stop on his way back to the big leagues, where he hasn’t seen action since May 25 due to bursitis in his right shoulder. But things didn’t go well for Meche, who didn’t use his curve ball during the rehab start because throwing it causes him pain. New Orleans pounded him for 7 earned runs on 8 hits and 2 walks in four innings.
After that start, Meche planned to have season-ending surgery, but he changed his mind after learning he would miss the 2011 season (his final season under contract with Kansas City) and that the surgery may have even ended his career. Instead, he has asked to be moved to the bullpen, where his shoulder won’t have to endure as much.
He may not see major league action out of the pen until September.
“Our focus on him is to try to maybe rehab him back as a reliever and have him in a position where he’s available for us,” Kansas City manager Ned Yost is quoted as saying in the Kansas City Star. “I think that’s something the muscles in his shoulder can handle, 40 pitch stints.
“One-hundred-pitch stints, that’s pushing it a little bit. Forty-pitch stints, I think you could use him every other day and keep him healthy and part of our club and be a productive part of our club.”
