Former Red Sox pitching prospect undergoes shoulder surgery
Former Red Sox left-hander Shane Drohan will see the start of his season delayed. The White Sox’ Rule 5 draft pick back in December underwent shoulder nerve decompression surgery on Thursday, according to Scott Merkin of MLB.com.
"He had successful surgery this morning. Left shoulder and he’s looking to start probably a throwing program right after the end of spring,” said White Sox skipper Pedro Grifol.
Boston left Drohan unprotected off the 40-man roster making him available to be taken in the Rule 5 draft.
The 24-year-old had impressive start to his 2023 season, posting a 5-0 record and a 1.32 ERA with the Portland Sea Dogs. Following his promotion on May 18, the hype around Drohan was real.
The soft-spoken southpaw never let the hype get to him on the mound. He did admit that he was a little surprised by his call up to the WooSox.
“I was a little surprised,” said Drohan on his call-up to Beyond the Monster last season. “It’s so early in the year, it did catch me off guard a little bit when the pitching coach [Shawn] came over and said ‘hey the you get dressed, come into Eppey’s office [Chad Epperson]. It’s usually one where you kind of have to feel it out,” added Drohan.
Unfortunately, the left-handed hurler struggled at the Triple-A level. Drohan made 21 appearances (19 starts) posting a 6.47 ERA, while seeing his velocity tick down and was inconsistent in finding the strike zone.
Drohan dealt with a calf injury that forced him to miss the MLB Futures Game. Fatigue also became an issue for the lefty as the season worn on. He did offer good command of the strike zone on his fastball while with the WooSox. Drohan sits between 92-94 mph and tops out at 96 mph with his fastball. In addition to his heater, the lefty offers a cutter, changeup and curveball.
