Pirates lefty Francisco Liriano admits to bizarre injury

Francisco Liriano

Francisco Liriano recently agreed to a one-year deal deal with the Pirates with a team option for 2014. It could have been a two-year contract, if not for breaking his right arm around Christmas time in a freak accident.

Initially, a few weeks ago, a Dominican newspaper reported that Liriano fractured his right arm after slipping and falling in the bathroom. That would be a strange enough injury, but as Joba Chamberlain knows, that type of injury is only “childs play” compared to what really happened.

According to reports Monday, Liriano said he actually injured his arm while intentionally slamming it into a door on Christmas Day in an attempt to scare his children in the room next door.

“I was surprised when I got to the hospital and they told me it was broken,” Liriano said.

The situation could have been worse in that Liriano is a left-handed pitcher, and because the injury occurred on his non-throwing arm, he was able to salvage a one-year deal. Liriano is a pitcher who has showed flashes of brilliance, but due to numerous injuries, his career has been a disappointment.

The 29-year-old burst onto the scene in 2006 with the Twins, going 12-3 with a 2.16 ERA and 144 strikeouts in 121 innings pitched. He missed all of the 2007 season and parts of 2008, before a poor 2009 season. Liriano had a good comeback year in 2010 (14-10, 3.62 ERA), before more inconsistencies during the past two seasons.

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