Yu Darvish likely to undergo Tommy John surgery
Texas Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish will likely undergo Tommy John surgery next week, general manager Jon Daniels announced Wednesday.
Darvish was limited to 22 starts last season due to elbow woes, and was removed from his first spring start with right triceps soreness. The club sent Darvish for an MRI, which revealed the 28-year-old would likely need the surgery.
The Rangers will send the imaging to Dr. James Andrews in order to get a third opinion, but the first two doctors who saw the MRI recommended surgery. As long as nothing changes, Darvish will undergo Tommy John surgery next week.
Baseball is in the middle of what’s been termed a Tommy John epidemic over the past two years. When news broke over the weekend that Darvish could be next, it was a gut punch to fans.
The sooner Darvish has the surgery, the sooner he can return to action. The typical recovery from Tommy John surgery takes about 12 months, so Darvish could hypothetically return by the start of next season. He would like to move quickly, which is why the team will make the official decision on the surgery by the end of the week.
The injury puts the Rangers in a tough position. While the team went out and acquired Yovani Gallardo in the offseason, Darvish is the unquestioned ace of the staff, and a top-10 pitcher in the game when healthy. The issue also puts more pressure on Derek Holland, who was limited to just six games last season due to various injuries.
Behind Holland, the club is expected to rely on Colby Lewis, Ross Detwiler and Nick Tepesch. Lewis was one of the few Rangers who stayed healthy last season, but he missed all of 2013 after undergoing hip surgery. Detwiler and Tepesch have promise, but combined to throw less than 200 innings last year, so it’s unclear how much the team will push them as the year goes on.
The Rangers were no stranger to injuries in 2014. The club lost 2,116 days to the disabled list, according to Jeff Zimmerman of the Hardball Times. Those issues have already bled over to 2015. Prospect Jurickson Profar is set to miss the entire season with a shoulder issue, and it appears Darvish is next.
While the Rangers weren’t getting a lot of sleeper buzz coming into the year, there was some hope that the return of their stars could propel the team into surprise contention. Without their ace, that’s going to be incredibly difficult.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
