CC Sabathia, Johan Santana and 15 Injured Pitchers To Be Worried About in 2011
As teams begin to look to the off season, they cannot just look at the potential free agents. Some teams have top pitchers that suffered an injury during the year or are facing off season surgery. The amount of concern about a pitcher could easily impact a team's off season plans. Find out if your team's pitchers are a concern going into next season.
15) Jake Arrieta
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The rookie had a promising season this year. Arrieta has a bone spur in his right shoulder. He only missed two starts the season as a result of the injury. While it was originally thought that Arrieta would need surgery, he got at second opinion from Dr. Lewis Yocum who said that he could avoid surgery. Arrieta is expected to be ready for spring training, but there is still the chance that he can worsen the injury during his throwing sessions in the off season and eventually require surgery.
14) Vicente Padilla
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Padilla was a useful part of the Dodgers rotation this year. He was shut down in early September as a result of an bulging disk in his neck. An MRI showed that Padilla is not likely to require surgery. However, there is also a chance that he can worsen the injury. As a 33 year old, who is in this year's free agent class, this injury could impact Padilla's next contract.
13) Dallas Braden
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Braden had an interesting season this year. He made national news by yelling across the diamond at A-Rod. Then, on Mother's Day, Braden threw a perfect game. While Braden had a 3.50 ERA this year and a 1.16 WHIP, he recently claimed that he has had to pitch with two numb toes since his surgery on his left foot in August 2009. Braden has filed a negligence suit against his orthopedic surgeon. It is not know if this will impact Braden's pitching as he clearly had a good year this season despite the pain. However, Braden says that he "experiences numbness and extreme and excessive pain while pitching". It will be interesting to see if this impacts Braden going forward.
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12) Ricky Nolasco
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Nolasco is one of the three pitchers on the list to undergo surgery for a torn meniscus. Nolasco is a major part of the Marlins rotation. Luckily, Nolasco is expected to be back for spring training. He had his surgery in September and he should begin a light throwing program in a few weeks.
11) Jair Jurrjens
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Jurrjens missed a lot of time during this season. Early in the year, he missed two months with a hamstring injury. He missed the end of the season as a result of a torn meniscus. Jurrjens is one of the top young pitchers in the National League and the Braves missed him this season. Jurrjens was in good hands as his surgery was preformed by the legendary Dr. James Andrews. Jurrjens is fully expected to be ready for spring training.
10) CC Sabathia
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Sabathia is obviously the ace of the New York Yankees rotation. His 21 wins led the American league this year. It is surprising to find out that he pitched most of the year with knee pain. It was determined that Sabathia had a small tear of his right meniscus. He has already undergone surgery and is expected to begin his normal preparations for spring training in three to six weeks.
9) Jake Peavy
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Peavy definitely had one of the more unique injuries of the 2010 season. In July, Peavy suffered a detached latissimus dorsi. He underwent surgery on the injury in the same month. The White Sox expect him to be able to participate in spring training.
8) Justin Duchscherer
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Duchscherer is one of those players that has just been plagued by the injury bug. After missing all of the 2009 season following elbow surgery, Duchscherer was able to make just five starts this year before getting injured again. Duchscherer underwent hip surgery in June and is one a six month recovery program. He is a free agent this off season so he will likely have a difficult time finding a deal.
7) Erik Bedard
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Bedard, just like Duchscherer is another player that has been bitten by the injury bug. After undergoing surgery for a torn labrum at the end of 2008, Bedard made it back for about half of the 2009 season. Midway through '09, Bedard required another shoulder surgery. Bedard was only able to make 3 minor league rehab appearances this season. He will be ready for next season, but he needs to find a team that will take a risk on him since he is a free agent.
6) Johan Santana
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Without the emergence of R.A. Dickey, the Mets pitching staff would be in even bigger trouble for next season. The Mets ace, Johan Santana was shut down with shoulder problems and had to undergo surgery to repair a tear of the anterior capsule. While the Mets think that Santana should be ready for spring training, Johan is not so sure. He thinks the recovery will take some time. This is bad news for the Mets as this is the third straight year in which Santana has had surgery. In '08, he had surgery on torn cartilage in his left knee, and he had surgery to remove bone chips from his left elbow in September '09.
5) Dustin McGowan
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McGowan is a young pitcher that looked to have some promise. He appear to be someone who could become a fixture in the middle of the Blue Jays rotation. All of that has now been put on hold. McGowan underwent surgery for a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder. While McGowan hopes to be back for the 2011 season, there is a significant chance that he will not pitch again in the majors until 2012.
4) Joe Nathan
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Joe Nathan has been one of the most dominant closers in the major leagues since 2004. However, Nathan did not pitch a single game in 2010 as a result of Tommy John surgery. Nathan set his goal to make it back for opening day 2011. This is very ambitious of him because Tommy John surgery normally takes over a year to recover from. Expect to see Nathan in 2011, however, it is unknown if he will return to his previous level of dominance.
3) Ben Sheets
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When healthy, Sheets is a dominant pitcher. However, that happens to be the problem. It appears that sheets is almost always injured. Sheets missed all of the 2009 season after having a procedure on his elbow. However, his potential got him a 1-year, $10 million contract with the A's. Sheets struggled this season and never looked comfortable. While Sheets had thought that he had only injured his flexor tendon this year, it was also discovered that he needed Tommy John surgery. If he is to return to baseball, Sheets has a long road ahead of him. He will almost certainly miss most if not all of the 2011 season, and he will be a free agent looking for a contract for 2012.
2) Brandon Webb
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It can be easily argued that Brandon Webb was the top pitcher in baseball from 2006-2008. Webb expected to be a star in 2009 as well. His season was cut very short. After the first game of the season, Webb hurt his shoulder. He thought he could avoid surgery. However, this was not possible and he was operated on in August 2009. Since then, Webb has finally returned to facing live batters this September. These innings are against meaningless competition as he has only faced instructional league batters. Webb is a free agent and someone is going to take a risk on him. There is potential for a huge reward if Webb can return to even 3/4 of his previous form.
1) Stephen Strasburg
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Strasburg was one of, if not the most, hyped pitching pitching prospect of all time. As fans waited and waited for his minor league debut, the hype continued to build around him. Then, in June, Strasburg showed up in a big way. He had one of the best debuts in major league history. He went seven innings giving up just four hits and two runs while striking out 14 and walking none. Strasburg continued his success in his other starts. Unfortunately, in his 12th start this season, Strasburg felt something in his elbow. This would be the end of his year. Strasburg had to undergo Tommy John surgery. He will miss all of the 2011 season but he already started his rehab. Strasburg had the potential to be one of the most exciting players of this generation. No one knows what he will be like when he gets back from this surgery.
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.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
