Kyle Lohse's forearm problems appear to be more serious than initially thought—season-threatening surgery now seems increasingly likely. Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the Cardinals have diagnosed him with extreme compartmental syndrome:
Cardinals starting pitcher Kyle Lohse is suffering from a rare condition that either requires surgery or necessitates a permanent role change, say sources familiar with the diagnosis given Lohse on Wednesday by an Anaheim, Calif., specialist.
Hand and wrist specialist Dr. Steven S. Shin met with Lohse for less than an hour at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic about 90 minutes north of San Diego. Shin found Lohse to be suffering from extreme compartment syndrome, a condition in which the sheath covering a muscle in the pitcher's forearm fails to allow it to expand.
The Cardinals had no way of knowing something like this would happen—only Noah Lowry has been diagnosed this way before, a diagnosis that later proved both incorrect and damaging to the former Giants pitcher's career—but this is another set-back in a contract that's proven disappointing from the moment it was signed.