Update: Giants respond to Lowry's agent's accusations

Lowry threw his last pitch for the Giants in '07. Jeff Chiu, AP

The Giants took exception to some comments made by Lowry's agent Damon Lapa regarding Lowry's physical health.  They have issued this statement:

The Giants organization and its medical staff have always treated Noah Lowry’s condition appropriately and with the utmost care. We have never performed any medically inappropriate procedures on Mr. Lowry. Per Major League Baseball’s labor agreement and federal laws regarding medical privacy, the Giants are prohibited from discussing specific medical information publicly. However, we can state that Mr. Lapa’s accusations against our organization are factually inaccurate, intentionally misleading and irresponsible.

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At one time Noah Lowry was considered one of the best young left handers in all of baseball. Today he was in Dallas, Texas undergoing an operation that successfully removed the first rib on his left side.

He won't pitch again this year, and he may never return to a big league mound.

Due to symptoms from thoracic outlet syndrome, a circulatory problem, the 28 year old who led the team in wins in 2007 will be sidelined for at least 10 to 12 weeks.

The sidelines are nothing new to Lowry. He hasn't pitched in a Major League game since August of '07.  Dr. Greg Pearl who performed the operation today believes this issue has been the core problem for Lowry since he began experiencing numbness in his left forearm late in the '07 season.

In March of 2008, Lowry underwent an operation for what was deemed exertional compartment syndrome. According to Henry Schulman of the S. F. Chronicle the operation cut a "sheath around the muscles" in an attempt to relieve the symptoms.

Now that original diagnosis and the surgery that followed in spring training of last year is being called into question, and Lowry's career could quite possibly be over. He's already lost the past two seasons thanks to arm troubles, now he will be unable to perform any baseball related activity for the next three months.  Lowry's contract, which he signed prior to the 2006 season, is set to expire and it's unknown whether or not he'll be able to show any team he can compete in order to catch on for next year.

Two other Major League Pitchers, Kenny Rogers and Jeremy Bonderman, have had the same operation and were able to comeback and pitch.  However, Lowry's syndrome is a bit more severe.

Lowry's agent, Damon Lapa, told the Chronicle the following: 

"The Giants were very diligent in having him see a variety of doctors, but ultimately it's based on results. Regardless of how many doctors he saw in the organization, none of them was able to diagnose the root of the problem. They tried a variety of treatments with no symptomatic relief and left Noah in a situation where he's worked himself into the best shape of his life and he still had symptoms and pain.

"It's a happy day in the sense that we're excited the cause has been found. Noah has been working diligently and he's been frustrated for the past 12 months or so of, without a clear cause or diagnosis, not knowing why he's not able to do what he enjoys. There's nothing worse than robbing a guy of what he loves to do."

Giants beat writer Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News, speculates that the relationship between the two sides has eroded over the past two years, and the Giants likely would not even consider resigning Lowry to a minor league deal to see if he could mount a comeback. 

For more info: The Splash -- Mercury News