GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- The shred of optimism that Jarrod Parker and the A's might have taken into Thursday evening regarding the right-hander's again-injured elbow was dashed with tough news on Friday.
An MRI exam revealed that Parker refractured the medial epicondyle in his right elbow, the same injury that occurred last May 8 while Parker was rehabbing from his second career Tommy John surgery. Parker has not pitched in a Major League game since 2013, and his 2016 season is now likely over, while his future is once again in question.
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"We're just devastated for Jarrod," A's general manager David Forst said. "That's what we've been thinking all morning. He worked hard not once, but twice, to come back, and he was obviously emotional about it. We'll just do what we can to help take care of him."
Forst said that Parker will take the weekend to "gather his thoughts" and be with his parents, who are in the Phoenix area. He will come back to the A's facility in Mesa, Ariz., on Monday to meet with head trainer Nick Paparesta and the rest of the A's medical staff.
"It's tough," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "The guy's fought so many times to put himself back in a position. We're talking about an elite guy, a guy who's pitched in postseason games, pitched the first game of the postseason for us, and to go through these as many times as he has shows you a little bit about his tenacity."
The MRI exam was ordered on Thursday after Parker's simulated game was cut short because of pain in his elbow. There was optimism overnight because Parker originally felt pain on the outside of the elbow and not the inside, which was the site of the original fracture. But Parker woke up on Friday with the pain in the same spot as last year.

"He woke up feeling worse, and it was swollen," Forst said. "The one thing he did say was that he kind of expected the worst. … Bob, Nick and I met with him this morning to give him the news. He responded as you would expect. He had an idea based on how he felt when he woke up this morning, but I think just getting the news was crushing for him.
"It's been two-plus long years of this, and as an organization, we'll be fine -- the A's will be fine -- but you just feel for him."

Dr. James Andrews performed the surgery that ended Parker's 2015 season last May 19. Parker's previous revised ulnar collateral ligament did not need repairing, and the avulsed medial epicondyle fracture was cleaned up and repaired. He first underwent Tommy John surgery on Oct. 28, 2009.
As for possible pondering of where Parker's career might go from here, Forst wouldn't speculate.
"We're not there yet," Forst said. "We don't have an answer for that."