Joe Nathan needs Tommy John surgery but doesn’t plan to retire

The Detroit Tigers confirmed the worst for Joe Nathan after the “intense” arm injury he suffered Wednesday during a minor-league rehab appearance. He tore the UCL in his elbow and needs Tommy John surgery, which means Nathan will be out for at least the season.

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Conventional wisdom says this injury could be the end of Nathan’s career. He’s 40, after all. But multiple reports indicate that Nathan isn’t ready to retire yet. 

Joe Nathan is not ready to call it a career, and plans to rehab after undergoing “Tommy John” surgery.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) April 23, 2015

This will be Nathan’s second Tommy John surgery. His first was in 2010. Coming back from a second surgery is tougher for pitchers and requires around 18 months. As our Jeff Passan notes, that means Nathan possibly wouldn’t be able to pitch in MLB again until 2017.

There is precedent for a Joe Nathan comeback: John Franco returned at 42 after Tommy John. Nobody has made it from a 2nd TJ at Nathan’s age.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 23, 2015

The catch with Joe Nathan: Tommy John revisions, especially with flexor-tendon tears, require a much longer rehab time. Closer to 18 months.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 23, 2015

So unless Nathan’s rehab goes extremely well — and there’s incentive to push for a fast one — he could be waiting until 2017 to return.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 23, 2015

Nathan is in the final season of a two-year, $20 million deal with the Tigers, which has an option for 2016 that obviously won’t be picked up now. For purposes of his bank account, Nathan could hold off until after the season to retire – if that’s the route he chooses – and collect the rest of his money from the Tigers. 

The team, meanwhile, is in a rough spot with its bullpen, which has been an overall black eye the past few years. Nathan himself hadn’t been terribly consistent since joining the Tigers, but they’re still losing a veteran arm who was supposed to be a key part of the team. Detroit can hope young fireballer Bruce Rondon, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, returns and thrives. After Nathan’s initial injury, Joakim Soria took over as the team’s closer. He’s 5-for-5 in save opportunities with a 1.35 ERA.

Despite a rough past year or so in Detroit, Nathan was one of the best closers in baseball for a decade. The Stew’s Chris Cwik detailed Nathan’s successes Wednesday in his post about the latest injury.

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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz