Former Yankee Didi Gregorius is in the middle of the worst season of his career – and chose a controversial reason on which to blame his struggles.
Speaking to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Gregorius – now with the Phillies – said he developed an elbow condition after he was vaccinated for COVID-19 called pseudogout, a form of arthritis that causes painful swelling. The shortstop said the condition hurt his performance throughout the season.
“Some people say it’s from the vaccine. I will say it’s likely from that, too,” Gregorius said. “But when you say that, everyone looks at you like you’re stupid because the vaccine is not supposed to be like that or give you that reaction.”
Experts are skeptical of his claims. Paul Offit, a vaccine specialist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, told the paper that any pseudogout “has nothing to do with the vaccine.” He said it was possible the vaccine would cause the condition to flare up if he already had it and didn’t know about it, but it would only last a few days.
A months-long flare of pseudogout caused by the vaccine “doesn’t make any sense,” Offit said. Ravina Kullar, a spokesperson for the Infectious Diseases Society of America, told the Inquirer she knew of two reports of rheumatoid arthritis flares after receiving the vaccine, but again, they didn’t last long.
Didi Gregorius with the Phillies.Getty ImagesGregorius currently is recording career lows in batting average (.217) and on-base percentage (.275), and his OPS (.650) is the lowest mark since his rookie season. He has appeared in 89 games this season, having missed time due to the elbow injury.
Gregorius has previously had Tommy John surgery on the elbow, and also injured it by landing funny while making a catch in shallow center field in April.
The shortstop played five seasons for the Yankees from 2015 to 2019, before signing a one-year deal with the Phillies in 2020. Philadelphia then re-signed him in 2021.
