Pirates starter Chris Archer underwent surgery to relieve symptoms of neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) Tuesday, meaning that if there is a 2020 baseball season, he will not play.
He is projected to return to full competition for the 2021 season.
Archer had consulted with several leading vascular and orthopedic surgeons in recent weeks before making the decision to undergo the procedure.
“As we know, [Archer] underwent surgery by [Dr. Robert Thompson] in St. Louis yesterday to address symptoms of neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome," Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk told reporters during a Zoom video conference Wednesday. "[We're] very encouraged with how the overall procedure went and we anticipate a full recovery for the 2021 season for Chris.”
Archer's 2019 season was cut short after experiencing right shoulder discomfort while warming up for an inning. He missed time this spring training with neck tightness, but he made one start before the COVID-19 shutdown. Still, the troubles lingered, and Archer eventually elected to have surgery.
TOS surgery has started to become more common among pitchers in recent years, and most players do not have a good track record coming back from it. While Nick Burdi underwent the procedure last year and came back throwing harder than ever, most pitchers, like Matt Harvey, lose some heat on their fastball.
"[Archer] was on a throwing program monitored by everybody, by our pitching coaches, our manager, our performance team," Tomczyk said. "It’s a challenging diagnosis, one, and it’s challenging with the distance, but we did overcome that in a lot of ways with the technology of this time that we’re living in.
"But what made it most challenging, I think for Chris, and that’s who we should be focused on is Chris here, is that he didn’t feel the symptoms immediately after throwing. It was hours. It was the next day, and it wasn’t very — and this is what is consistent with TOS — is the inconsistencies. So that’s what makes it sometimes challenging to make a clear-cut diagnosis. But Chris is and was very diligent with marking down what he felt, when he felt it, to help himself and help us and the physicians really pin down the correct diagnosis so we could help him move forward."
The Pirates hold a club option for Archer for 2021 worth $11 million. It is his final year of team control, and it comes with a $250,000 buyout.
"As with any contract decision, option or otherwise, we’re going to take advantage of all of the time that we possibly have to make those decisions, and there’s a lot that we’ll learn over the next several months," Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said on that front during the call.

Chris Archer. -- MATT SUNDAY / DKPS
Pirates
Pirates lose Archer for 2020 after surgery
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