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Texas Rangers pitcher Kohei Arihara needs surgery for an aneurysm discovered in his shoulder, per g.m. Chris Young (via the beat guys on Twitter). Arihara is expected to go at least 12 weeks without throwing, which would make it very difficult for him to return this season.
An aneurysm is a bulge in the wall of a blood vessel resulting from a weakness at a particular spot in the blood vessel wall. Left uncorrected, the aneurysm can eventually rupture, resulting in internal bleeding that can be life-threatening. It is not clear whether this affected his pitching this season, but it is something that can obviously have a serious impact on his health, and so it needs to be addressed for Arihara’s own safety.
The 28 year old righthander is currently on the 10 day injured list. He has a 6.59 ERA and 6.60 FIP in 28.2 IP in 7 starts this year, in what is the first year of a two year, $6.2 million deal he signed this past offseason.