There is good news for Cincinnati Reds reliever Sean Marshall: he may have a chance to pitch late this season rather than miss the entire year.

Marshall is recovering from 2014 shoulder surgery and a more recent procedure that initially indicated that he would miss the entire 2015 season after sitting out since before last year's All-Star break. However, the latest update shows that he could begin throwing in six weeks and possibly return to the active roster by late July or early August.

MLB.com's Andy Call reports that Marshall was supposed to have another surgery to repair a torn shoulder capsule, which would have meant certain absence for all of 2015, last Wednesday, May 20. Call, though, describes the surgeon's good news saying that Marshall can return much faster. Call writes,

"When New York Mets medical director Dr. David Altchek performed the procedure, he instead found only significant scar tissue from Marshall's June 2014 surgery to repair a torn labrum. The scar tissue was cleaned up, a biceps tendon was moved, and Marshall returned to a Reds clubhouse Monday that seemed cheered by his arrival."

Call also quoted a statement from the 6'7" 32-year-old left-hander saying how excited he is at the possibility of pitching in the Majors again this year. Said Marshall,

"It's mind-boggling, really. I can start throwing again in six weeks. A couple weeks ago, the best-case scenario was that I might be playing catch in six months. It was a huge breath of fresh air. It took a while to set in."

Marshall last pitched in June of 2014. He had surgery on June 24 and spent the rest of the season on the 60-day disabled list because of that torn labrum in his shoulder. He has not thrown a ball of any kind since then -- not even playing catch with his kids, which he would also like to start doing again.

In his nine-year career from 2006-2014, Marshall is 37-46 with a 3.86 ERA and 1.33 WHIP in 59 starts and 337 relief appearances for the Chicago Cubs (2006-2011) and Reds (2012-2014). He has pitched exclusively from the bullpen since 2010, but injuries have held him to only 31 total appearances in the past two seasons. The Cubs traded him to Cincinnati in December of 2011 for Travis Wood and Dave Sappelt.

Marshall commented with the following statement, acknowledging the moral support he has received: "A lot of people have been praying for me. Hopefully those prayers were answered."

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About the author
Raymond Bureau
Raymond became a baseball fan at a very young age. He played baseball through high school and soon after became a varsity coach. He is now the P.A. announcer at his high school where he teaches. Raymond previously produced radio sports talk shows and hosted a weekly MLB radio call-in show. His favorite teams are the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees. Raymond is a devoted husband, father, and Christ follower. His life verses are Philippians 4:13, John 14:6, and Isaiah 41:10.