Atlanta pitcher Dan Winkler’s elbow injury puts career in jeopardy
No one is giving up on Atlanta reliever Dan Winkler, especially not Winkler himself, after his latest injury Sunday in a 12-7 loss to St. Louis.
Winkler had given Atlanta and the rest of Major League Baseball every reason to believe he is capable of serving as a quality relief pitcher during spring training and the early going this season. He had faced eight batters this season and only one of them reached base prior to the seventh inning when he pitched to Randal Grichuk.
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Winkler attempted to throw a full-count cutter to Grichuk and the ball sailed well behind Grichuk as Winkler held his arm and walked toward the Atlanta dugout. it was clear the 26-year-old product of Effingham, Ill., had suffered a serious injury.
X-rays showed the Winkler suffered a fractured elbow but the real fear is what a pending MRI could reveal. Winkler underwent Tommy John surgery and missed parts of the 2014 and 2015 seasons and he has to be hoping there was no ligament damage in addition to the fracture, which would likely require a second Tommy John procedure.
At this point, Winkler probably won’t be able to compete again in earnest until next spring at the earliest and that’s if the injury is limited to a fractured elbow. If there is the need for another ligament repair in the elbow, his return could take much longer.
[Bartolo Colon delighted fans with over-the-shoulder catch]
Winkler had pitched 21/3 innings this season at the time he was hurt. He recorded four strikeout and had not allowed a run or a hit. That start to the season came on the heels of a strong spring in which he looked like one of Atlanta’s best options out of the bullpen coming into the season.
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Kyle Ringo is a contributing writer to Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo
