Noah Lowry's Agent Accuses Giants of Misdiagnosis, Derailing Career

Noah Lowry, once one of the more promising young pitchers in the majors, had surgery on Tuesday to correct a circulatory problem that his agent claims the Giants misdiagnosed 14 months ago.

General manager Brian Sabean did not immediately return a call to FanHouse, but the Giants issued a statement denying any wrongdoing or negligence.

The surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome, a condition that afflicted Kenny Rogers and Jeremy Bonderman, likely means the end of Lowry's tenure with the Giants.

In March 2008, Lowry had a mysterious bout of wildness in spring training and the Giants eventually determined he had exertional compartment syndrome. In order to relieve pressure on the nerves in his forearm, he had surgery to cut the sheath surrounding the muscles. The rehab was supposed to be short, and Lowry was expected back on the mound by late April.

Except Lowry never made it back to the mound. Agent Damon Lapa said the recent diagnosis of thoracic outlet syndrome should have been made last year. From ESPN.com:

"Not only did they perform the wrong surgery, but Noah did the wrong rehab along with it, and he's basically been spinning his wheels for the last six to eight months," Lapa said.

The Giants then issued the following rebuttal:

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.

Lowry, 28,is 40-31 with a 4.03 ERA in 106 big league games, including 100 starts. After he went 13-13 with a 3.78 ERA as a 24-year-old in 2006, the Giants signed him to a four-year, $9.25-million deal. He last pitched in August 2007.

The Giants hold an option for $6.25 million for 2010, but they obviously aren't going to pick that up now. The Giants would also likely decline to offer him arbitration (he'll have only five years of major league service), making him a free agent. Based on Lapa's accustations, it would seem pretty unlikely that Lowry would be interested in coming back on a minor-league deal or with an incentive-laden big league contract.