It took two months on the disabled list, an offseason of rest, and two expert opinions on elbow injuries to get to this point, but the Rangers finally decided that ace starter Yu Darvish would undergo Tommy John surgery. Dr. James Andrews will perform the surgery on Tuesday in Pensacola, Fla.
Yu Darvish will undergo Tommy John surgery
The Rangers held off through two opinions, but now it’s official.
Allan Henry-USA TODAY Sports
Darvish will miss the entire 2015 season, and as Tommy John generally takes 10-12 months recovery on the short time, he might end up missing the beginning of 2016 as well. The news that Darvish will require surgery is a huge blow to the Rangers, whose 2014 was sunk by injuries well before the righthander went down. They needed a healthy Yu to lead their rotation and help them compete against the Angels, Mariners, and Athletics in the AL West.
Darvish’s 2014 season was cut short by elbow inflammation, which caused him to miss the final two months of the year while he sat on the 60-day disabled list. He left his first appearance of spring training this year with discomfort in his elbow, which in turn led to an MRI and a diagnosis that he had a sprained ulnar collateral ligament.
Darvish has been one of the game’s top pitchers in his three years in Major League Baseball, leading the American League in strikeouts with 277 in 2013 while throwing 209 innings and finishing second in the AL Cy Young voting. Whether the Rangers will now go out of their way to find a new ace is unknown, but it’s going to be difficult -- and expensive -- to replace Darvish’s production for any length of time.
If you’re the press release type, the Rangers have released one on Darvish.
Darvish press release pic.twitter.com/F8UKY6ypAA
— Evan Grant (@Evan_P_Grant) March 13, 2015 See More:
