ANAHEIM — Right-hander David Festa might be one step closer to finding out the cause of his nagging pain in his throwing shoulder.
Festa, who was shut down on Sept. 2, met with Dr. Keith Meister on Tuesday. After an MRI and a clinical evaluation, Meister believes Festa has neurological thoracic outlet syndrome. He referred Festa to Dr. Gregory Pearl, a vascular surgeon in Dallas, for further evaluation.
According to Twins head athletic trainer Nick Paparesta, neurological thoracic outlet syndrome is usually caused by the overdevelopment or underdevelopment of a muscle that impedes the brachial plexus nerve, the nerve in the shoulder.
“There’s nerve roots that go down into your pec, they go down into your lower arm,” Paparesta said. “There may be something impeding one of those nerves.”
Treatment options for Festa can include diagnostic injections with botox or in the worst-case scenario, surgery. Either way, Festa’s evaluation with Pearl won’t be for another few weeks, and the Twins want to wait until he’s formally diagnosed before speculating on a timeline for his return or rehab program.
The 25-year-old began feeling discomfort in his right shoulder early in the season when he was pitching for Triple-A St. Paul. He dealt with it throughout the season until the pain felt stronger than usual after his start against the Dodgers on July 21. He was placed on the IL after that with right shoulder inflammation.
Festa began a rehab assignment over a month later with St. Paul on Aug. 28, but his symptoms popped back up after throwing 2 2/3 innings, which led to the decision to shut him down and see Meister.
He carried a 5.40 ERA with 53 strikeouts, 19 walks and a 3-4 record in 11 games (10 starts) for the Twins this season.
