Arrieta says bone spur is not a problem

O's pitcher Jake Arrieta revealed this afternoon that he has a bone spur in his right elbow. He said it does not impact his pitching and he has no pain from it, but the Orioles are considering Arrieta undergo a procedure to have it removed. "I've got a bone spur and I've had it for years. It's never bothered me. I think they just want to monitor it and make sure it's not getting any bigger. I think if it does, they might take it out. "They could shave it off. It's limited my flexibility but it's never affected my pitching. It's kind of a thing, where, if it bothers you get rid of it, but if it doesn't, then it's okay. "What they don't want to have happen is have it creep up say, mid season next year and have to have it taken out. I guess we are debating whether to get it done now and put it behind us or wait." Arrieta said he has had the spur for years and emphasized it does not impact his pitching at all. "I knew I had it when I was in college. My flexibility hasn't gotten any worse and I've been 100 percent healthy since. It's really the doc's call whether he thinks it's smart to get taken out or not. "As far as pain goes, I have no pain. It's just a precaution for the future." Arrieta said the team has known about the bone spur. "Yeah, they just, I guess, want to see if it's gotten any bigger, what it looks like. It looks pretty much the way they expected it to. Sometimes they grow. Sometimes you can pitch for years with no problem, but sometimes they bark a little. It's one of those things, you kind of have to make a decision which way to go." Arrieta said he has never gotten sore or felt pain from the spur. "After starts, I don't ice, I don't take Advil. I never get sore, so, it's more of a precaution for the future, rather than the present. Get it done with so it never bothers me again. Then, everything is fine." Arrieta said he will see a doctor this afternoon and he may know then whether he will undergo a procedure to remove the spur. This has been a season he must feel pretty good about it. He had great numbers at Triple-A and came up to the Majors and had some success here as well. "Overall, I am very happy the way the year went. Made a lot of strides at Norfolk at the beginning of the year from last year and then the same thing here. I struggled for an extended period, but had some good starts mixed in there. Then had some consistency over the last four starts. I've been able to learn a lot and use it and it's shown out there on the field." Arrieta is 6-6, 4.66 in 18 Orioles starts. He is 2-0, 2.60 over his last three starts and pitched six shutout innings on Tuesday vs. Toronto. If he undergoes the removal of the spur, he said the rehab period would be very short and it would not effect his winter workouts or throwing at all. Update: The O's have decided that Arrieta will not pitch any more this year. Roch has more on that here.