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Jake Arrieta might need elbow surgery and the Phillies' situation gets messier

Blake Schuster
Yahoo Sports Contributor

The Philadelphia Phillies were already in a precarious position heading into a weekend series against the flailing New York Mets this weekend. Hovering around .500, this was a series they needed to sweep to keep pace with the division-leading Braves.

After splitting the first two games, there’s a concern Philadelphia may be losing more than just ground in the playoff race — they may be on the verge of losing one of their top starting pitchers, too.

Jake Arrieta reportedly has a bone spur in his elbow that the team was hoping they could address in the offseason, but according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, that timeline may not be sustainable if he continues to struggle with control on the mound.

Arrieta’s discomfort responsible for Frazier plunking?

The biggest sign of Arrieta’s struggles came via his changeup.

As Rosenthal notes, the former Cy Young winner had hit a batter with his changeup twice in 10 years but ended up plunking two batters in one inning with it on Saturday.

One of those batters, Todd Frazier, didn’t take too kindly to being hit (again) by the Phillies and ended up getting tossed after voicing his anger.

Arrieta, in turn, didn’t take too kindly to Frazier’s frustration and threatened to “put a dent in his skull” if he’s still upset.

The chest-puffing continued Sunday morning with Frazier pointing to baseball’s dreaded unwritten rules and threats of retaliation by Mets pitchers.

Frazier may feel getting hit by Arrieta was no accident, but the pitcher was clearly frustrated after his outing and mentioned his discomfort while avoiding specifics.

“I labored physically,” Arrieta told media after his outing. “I wasn’t able to put the ball where I wanted to. It’s been that way for a few weeks. Just physically not in a great spot.”

It’s easy to say Arrieta doesn’t want to use any excuses then for what’s happening on the mound. His 6.63 ERA over his last seven starts with 14 walks on 26 strikeouts may say otherwise.

Phillies next moves

The All-Star break should provide Arrieta a bit of cover while letting him and the Phillies figure out the best course of action moving forward. To start with, he’ll be meeting with the medical staff to assess where he’s at.

And this is where the equation gets even more complicated for Philadelphia.

Entering Sunday’s finale against the Mets, the Phillies are in third place in the NL East at 46-43 and 6.5 games back of Atlanta for the lead — though they are only a half game out of a wild card spot.

The July 31 trade deadline is fast approaching and the loss of a top-two starter in the rotation could massively determine where general manager Matt Klentak looks to bolster his roster.

Between Bryce Harper’s underwhelming performance at the plate, Andrew McCutchen’s torn ACL and now Arrieta’s elbow issue, this season is on the brink of disaster. Add in that the Phillies return from the All-Star break with a three-game series against the Nationals and a four-game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers it’s not an understatement to say this could be the most important stretch of the year in Philadelphia.

Figuring out how to navigate it starts with learning just how damaged Arrieta’s arm is. For all the talk about putting dents in heads, it’s a scar on the elbow that the Phillies are most worried about.

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Blake Schuster is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at blakeschuster@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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