Nick Piccone
Matt Imhof, who the Phillies selected in the second round of the 2014 MLB Draft, suffered a possibly career-threatening eye injury after a freak accident. According to his agent, Imhof “suffered a significant injury to his right eye” while doing a stretching routine that’s normal for pitchers. From ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick:
Imhof, 22, was taking part in a routine stretching regimen after a game at Brevard County when a piece of equipment malfunctioned and he was struck in the right eye, a baseball source told ESPN.com. Imhof has undergone surgery and is likely to need further procedures, the source said.
Imhof, a 6-foot, 5-inch left-hander out of Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, received a signing bonus of $1,187,900 from the Phillies as the 47th overall pick in 2014. He has struggled with his control in professional ball and recently begun transitioning from the starting rotation to the bullpen.
MLB.com ranked Imhof as the Phillies’ No. 19 prospect in 2015, but did not include him among the team’s top 30 prospects in its 2016 rankings.
Karon said Imhof’s family has asked for privacy as he recovers from his injury and would have no further comment.
Not something you want to hear for any professional athlete, much less one that’s just trying to get his professional career started. We hope Imhof can recover fully and continue playing competitive baseball.
never get why people at my gym waste their time doing that exercise