Tommy John deserves his own thread

[Frayed Knot]

- Yu Darvish is the latest, and the 1st big name this year, to take the plunge. Operation set for Tuesday. The best laid plans ...

- Josh Edgin holding off ... at least for the time being. It's not torn it's just stretched

- same with Cliff Lee although supposedly his elbow injury is something other than the UCL. Rumor has it he may retire rather than undergo a lengthy rehab (whether it's officially 'TJ' surgery or not). Right now he's trying to 'pitch through it'.

- Tanaka's arm apparently still attached after his first ST game and his first real pitching since last June aside for two 2 brief cameos (7 innings total) in September

- Toronto's Marcus Stroman (former #1 pick out of Duke) will miss all or most of the season but his torn ligament was in his knee so he doesn't belong in this thread (even though I just put him here)

[Centerfield]

Great thread. A shame about Darvish.

Place your bets now. Who goes under the knife first? Edgin or Tanaka?

[Frayed Knot]

Let's see now: we've got 'partially torn' (Tanaka) vs 'stretched' (Edgin).

I think at this point you'd have to bet on Edgin going under the knife first simply because Tanaka has ruled it out and is determined to pitch until it tears completely or at least feels a whole lot worse to the point where he can't pitch effectively.
Edgin, on the other hand, is still mulling over the option for getting what would essentially be 'preventative' type TJ surgery before even trying the rest/rehab/pray route.

[Frayed Knot]

Looks like (unfortunately) I had that one right.

Also added to the TJ list for this year are Braves reliever Shae Simmons (rookie in 2014 - 21 IP) and Joel Hanrahan who last pitched in May of 2013 for Boston (just 7 innings that whole year) before needing TJ surgery, and then was released this spring by Detroit before he ever made it back when it was learned he needed a second procedure a la Jeremy Hefner.

[Centerfield]

Zach Wheeler and Josh Edgin for 2015.

Matz has his out of the way, so that's good.

So I'm thinking Syndegaard and Montero should be set for 2016, since we'll have Wheeler back by then. Hopefully we can schedule their's early in the year so they'll be ready for Opening Day 2017.

Did Mejia already have his TJ surgery? If not, we should try to coordinate it for when Parnell comes back.

[Edgy MD]

Mejia tore his thing in 2011. Dr. Altchek took care of him.

From the Archives: "Mejia MCL tear."

[ashie62]

Centerfield wrote: Zach Wheeler and Josh Edgin for 2015. Matz has his out of the way, so that's good. So I'm thinking Syndegaard and Montero should be set for 2016, since we'll have Wheeler back by then. Hopefully we can schedule their's early in the year so they'll be ready for Opening Day 2017. Did Mejia already have his TJ surgery? If not, we should try to coordinate it for when Parnell comes back.

Makes me queasy to know both Harvey and deGrom have TJ on their charts.

Like a bag of exploding rubberbands. That would make Dr. Andrews the Rubberband man.

[Frayed Knot]

Centerfield wrote: Zach Wheeler and Josh Edgin for 2015. Matz has his out of the way, so that's good. So I'm thinking Syndegaard and Montero should be set for 2016, since we'll have Wheeler back by then. Hopefully we can schedule their's early in the year so they'll be ready for Opening Day 2017.

'16? ... '17?!? ... at this point I'm just hoping to avoid scheduling another one of these before the end of March is out.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I wonder how many people don't even realize that Tommy John is a human being, and not just a surgical procedure. He's received a strange kind of immortality. It's been many years since I've been to Cooperstown. If there's not a display in the museum devoted to him and the TJ surgery, there really should be.

[Frayed Knot]

I think there are some people who believe he was the surgeon.

[Centerfield]

I always thought he was the guy donating all of these super strong elbow ligaments.

[Frayed Knot]

Last year's #1 overall draft pick Brady Aiken.
Aiken was drafted out of high school by the Astros last June but didn't sign because Houston cut their initial bonus offer roughly in half after they didn't like the results of his physical. He was pitching at an IMG academy when he tore the UCL. But with recovery rates being what they are with TJ, he'll probably still be a 1st round pick this June. Several picks from last year were taken despite the teams knowing they already had, or were about to, under the procedure.

[Frayed Knot]

Joe Nathan joins this year's list after just 1/3 of an inning pitched for Detroit.
You'd have to think at age 40 that this is probably it for Seawolf Joe.

[Edgy MD]

Maybe, but Redman John Franco didn't cash it in when his ligament blew out after 40.

[Frayed Knot]

And now we can add the Dodgers' Brandon McCarthy and Homer Bailey from Cincy to this year's list.

McCarthy, who pitched for the Yanx last year, seemed like an iffy signing to begin with (4 yrs x $12 per). He had a decent season last year but not a consistent track record before that. And now this blows nearly half that contract out of the water.

Bailey, who along with the Yanx Phil Hughes were once the top pitching prospects in all of baseball, signed a six year extension just a year ago which will take him thru 2019 (plus a 2020 option) w/Cincy

[Edgy MD]

That's what they get for batting.

[Frayed Knot]

Alex Cobb - TB Rays. Cobb, who never did get around to pitching this year, had the surgery this past weekend.

Chase Whitley - NYY. Whitley went 1-2, 4.19 in 4 starts, left his last start in the 2nd inning and has since opted for the surgery.

[Edgy MD]

Josn Johnson joining the highly exclusive three-time Tommy John Club.

This time, they're going to transplant a tendon from his hair.