MLB Injury News and Analysis: Feb. 19

Well, another week and more injuries came up.

Ben Sheets had surgery on Tuesday repairing the common flexor tendon in his elbow.  While Dr. Andrews was there, he evaluated the ligaments and deemed them to be OK. 

Sheets and Dr. Andrews feel that he should be back to pitching in August. I’m concerned about how effective he will be once he returns.  We see time and time again, that pitchers who return from Tommy John surgery need many more months after returning to the majors before their pitches have the same bite to them. Since the tissue repaired is so close to the UCL, I believe it will be the same way.

Another thing that worries me is that there has now been six injuries to the right side of his body, the fifth time since 2005.  Somewhere there is a bad link in the transfer of force from the legs to the release point (or after) that is causing him to have repeated injuries to his shoulder/arm. Sometimes, changing mechanics can solve it but once the ball gets rolling you can’t just put it away.

So I expect that Sheets will return in August and he can probably make or break someone’s fantay season. I wouldn’t draft him and hold him. I would keep an eye on his progress through rehab. When it starts looking like he’ll return and they start giving you return dates, I would consider picking him up from the waiver wire or throwing a buck out there for him.

Bill Hall partially tore his left calf and will likely be out for 4-6 weeks. That will obviously affect his spring training but it shouldn’t necessarily bother him too much in the regular season.

Turning to Jeff Francis, there are mixed signals as to how bad it is.  There was word that his shoulder was improving last week, but now he said he’s still giving it until Feb. 19 to be better or else he’ll undergo surgery.  Another buyers beware situation and I would stay away.

J.D. Drew complained that his back has been stiff throughout the offseason.  Since he dealt with a herniated disc and missed time with it, complaints of continued back stiffness raises red flags. Often herniated discs don’t heal by themselves and end up requiring surgery. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him on the DL for this again.

Jason Schmidt is reportedly coming back from shoulder surgery quite well and will contend for a rotation spot, according to the L.A. Dodgers.  Schmidt had labrum surgery on June 21, 2007 and missed all of last year after suffering a set back last year. Monitor this situation closely, as he could be a great sleeper for 2009.

Chase Utley began fielding some grounders this week.  This is an important first step towards his recovery but I still worry that he will start slowly this year.