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Andrew Cashner stabbed in thumb during hunting-related accident, out three months

David Brown
Big League Stew

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Cashner flaunts his defenseless right thumb in spring training. (AP)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Another day at the winter meetings, another story of a fun hunting jaunt gone awry, afoul and askew for an employee of Major League Baseball.

As one man continues to nervously glance over his shoulder in fear of encountering a Hall of Famer wielding a rifle loaded with BBs, San Diego Padres right-hander Andrew Cashner will be recovering from surgery on his right thumb. It suffered a puncture wound Wednesday that lacerated a tendon when he was accidentally stabbed in a hunting accident. Cashner, a hard-throwing 26-year-old with a promising future, will miss three months.

Gosh, first we have to take major leaguers' guns away from them, and now we have to confiscate their knives? Pretty soon, they'll be left with just a can of mace and their wits among the wild boars of the Great Plains.

A day before, Cubs manager Dale Sveum explained what happened when Robin Yount accidentally shot him in the right ear and back. MLB needs some remedial hunting lessons. Jeepers, where's Luke Scott when you need him?

This tweet from @UTPadres gives a key detail of what happened to Cashner, though it is best read with context removed:

Of course he was. Basically, "dressing meat" refers to the trimming of the carcass. We don't know much else, such as what kind of animal they were hunting, or where it happened (Cashner is from Conroe, Texas, originally). Or how Cashner's friend managed to slip and stab him so perfectly. Or if there was horseplay or other potentially impairing behavior involved. But sometimes, accidents just happen.

A first-round pick of the Cubs in 2008, Cashner came over to the Padres in the Anthony Rizzo deal. He had a 4.27 ERA with 52 strikeouts in 46 1/3 innings in 2012, missing some time with a sore lat muscle. Hey, it's better than a stick in the eye, or a knife in the thumb.

Perhaps he didn't know all of the details, either, but Padres manager Bud Black was quoted as saying the hunting incident was "minor." Considering Cashner didn't lose use of his thumb, sure. Maybe Bud experienced worse while out in the bush with a Steve Farr or a Dennis Leonard back in the day. "Minor," he says! Bud must be a stud. Meanwhile, the lesson for Cashner: You're a Major League Baseball player. Pay people to hunt for you.

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