There's an official diagnosis for David Price.
Appearing on Dale & Keefe with John Tomase on Wednesday, Red Sox manager Alex Cora said after undergoing tests in Boston, it's been revealed the left-hander has a mild case of carpal tunnel syndrome. Price was sent back home earlier in the week and scratched from his scheduled Wednesday start against the Yankees.
"Actually, there's actually good news," Cora said. "Obviously, when you start talking about hands and tingling effects in the fingers, you start thinking the worst. But, he has a mild case of carpal tunnel syndrome. We're going to treat it the way we feel — he's going to be good again. He's coming back tomorrow, actually. He's going to throw. Hopefully he throws a bullpen and after that we'll make a decision if he makes his next start or something else.
"Actually, for everything that is going on and obviously the last 24 hours, for me it's kind of like, 'Woof, thank God it's nothing else than just that.'"
Cora seemed hopeful Price could make his next start.
Price hasn't really been the same since his April 11 start against the Yankees when he left after an inning following experiencing a tingling sensation in his left hand. He has an ERA just over 8.00 in his last five outings, which comes after not allowing a run in his first two starts. He's also not had the same control this year as in the past.
Cora is hopeful after getting past this he can get back to his normal self.
"I hope so, honestly, because this is a guy that throughout his career has been very precise and very effective," he said. "I don't know. His misses, you look in the dugout and there are certain games that he's so close to the mitt and you're like, 'Is he getting that call or not?' There was a game, the previous one, the one against the Rays, he wasn't getting the two-seamer on the inside part of the plate against right-handed hitters. The ball was coming back and the umpire felt it was inside. Was he missing, or was it something else? Hopefully mechanics-wise he's where he's supposed to be. This is something that everybody is going to feel good about it, everybody is going to work at it. He knows that there's nothing else going on and he can go out there, perform and dominate the way he's done throughout his career."
As for the timeline of when the Red Sox found out about the finger issue, Cora said it was well after he threw his bullpen Sunday in Texas, which he actually stopped because of allergies, not his fingers.
"There were allergies, honestly," Cora said. "He didn't feel good on Sunday. I found out after the game -- throughout the game and after the game we sat down and talked to David and he mentioned he felt it throughout the day. We decided that, especially me, I was like, 'Man, we have to take care of this. We're going to send you to Boston and go through testing. Hopefully, [it's] nothing worse than what we were talking about earlier in the season.' That was the timeline. I know everybody is questioning the allergies and the bullpen and everything, but that is what happened."
After Price throws Thursday in the Bronx, no matter what happens it seems the Red Sox will be cautious and patient with their left-hander knowing how important he is for the rest of the season.
"As you guys know, we've been taking care of these guys since Day 1 of spring training and it's still early in the season," Cora said. "We still have to take care of them. For us to accomplish what we set to accomplish in Fort Myers, we need David Price to be healthy. We have to take care of him."
