Kyle Drabek Having Tommy John Surgery

Kyle Drabek was removed from a start with an injury, which wasn’t good. Drabek later said he felt a popping sensation in his elbow, which wasn’t good. Drabek also said he didn’t feel any pain and that he’d passed his strength tests, which was good. He was placed on the disabled list with a UCL sprain anyway, which wasn’t good.

Kyle Drabek needs Tommy John surgery. That isn’t good.

When Drabek was diagnosed with a UCL sprain, surgery looked like a possibility, because a UCL sprain is a UCL tear. But what’s interesting here is that Drabek has had Tommy John surgery before, as a minor leaguer in 2007. He knows what it feels like to have a busted ligament, and evidently he didn’t feel that way this time around. That’s why Drabek said he was pretty unconcerned after he was taken out of the game. But science machines don’t often lie, and here we are now, with Drabek looking at another 10-12 difficult months of post-op rehabilitation.

To be frank, this probably isn’t real bad news for the 2012 Blue Jays, as Drabek hasn’t had a lot of success this season. But this is a blow to Drabek’s development, which is a blow to the Blue Jays’ future. If all goes well, Drabek could be back on a major-league mound next June or July, but that’s a ways off.