Reds starting pitcher Edinson Volquez had “Tommy John” surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament and torn flexor mass in his right elbow. Reds medical director Dr. Tim Kremchek performed the 90-minute procedure on Monday morning
That means Volquez could miss up to 12 months, which wouldn’t have him pitching again until late into the 2010 season.
Ouch.
Questions for which I don’t have an answer:
1. Can any of this be attributed to all the innings he threw in the 12 months previous to this season? (To be clear, I don’t think Dusty Baker can be blamed for that; he was pretty cautious, in my opinion.)
2. Could this surgery have been performed months ago, when Volquez first went on the DL, thus ensuring that Volquez would be back in action sooner? (I am a judge, not a doctor, so I don’t know the answer to that…but if this is another instance where the Reds dragged their feet or if there was an earlier misdiagnosis, it would irritate me to no end.)
UPDATE:
3. Does this mean that we are stuck with Bronson Arroyo and Aaron Harang? (I don’t mean to suggest that that is necessarily a bad thing, but I can’t see how they get traded now…which means there will be even less roster/payroll flexibility for 2010.)
4. Is Walt Jocketty still claiming that the Reds can compete in 2010?