batmagadanleadoff wrote: I'm still trying to wrap my head around the idea that a player can refuse an MRI. But upon further thought, though, it makes sense. I mean, what the hell can you do? You can't ordinarily force an adult to receive medical treatment. Of course, MLB isn't an ordinary society and this could've been covered in the bargaining agreement. But even if MLB could force a player to undergo medical testing, how does a team handle something like this Thor incident where the player refuses testing? I guess the fringier or more expendable a player is, the more he risks being cut or suspended or some other meaningful penalty. But when it's a star like Syndergaard, what can you do other than to bench him? And if you bench him, for how long do you bench him if he continues to refuse an MRI? If he said he felt fine yesterday, he'll probably say he feels fine tomorrow and the day after, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. The first thing Ronnie said during the game yesterday when the whole topic came up (though prior to Noah walking off the mound with the injury) was that he wouldn't have agreed to the MRI either. As long as one feels fine, he reasoned, as Syndergaard instead he did, why give them the chance to find something they might not like, especially as it's often said that NO pitcher is going to have pristine pictures taken of their pitching wing? In the meantime, it's my turn to go so let's get out there and do this. One of the insta-columns on this subject said that Sandy needed to issue Noah an 'MRI or DL' ultimatum but there is a grievance process where players can fight that if they think they're being DL'd while not actually injured. Now maybe Noah takes that route and maybe he doesn't and, yes, there's definitely pecking order where stars will be more likely to take that route than would the marginal player with a more tenuous grip on his roster spot and minor league options still on the team's list of options.