Pelfrey has Surgery to Alleviate Pressure on Ulner Nerve

[JB_Iowa]

2nd TJ wasn't necessary -- pressure likely caused by scarring from earlier surgery.

 

Here's hoping that this puts Pelfrey on a path where he can provide value to the Twins!

 

http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/blogs/262606271.html

 

 

No estimated date given on return but sounds like a minor procedure.

 

 

EDIT: MY BAD -- recovery time is 2-4 months. (see my post #3).

[stringer bell]

No estimated date given on return but sounds like a minor procedure.After the "minor" surgeries that contributed turning both Scott Diamond and Vance Worley into embarrassments, I will refrain from referring to any surgery on a pitching arm as "minor".

[JB_Iowa]

The recovery period is anywhere from 2-4 months, depending on the individual.

 

http://blogs.twincities.com/twins/2014/06/10/twinsights-mike-pelfrey-undergoes-minor-elbow-surgery/

 

 

I was definitely wrong on the "minor" thing. But I guess there is hope for next year.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Next year I'd like to see him used in a set up role

[iTwins]

Next year I'd like to see him used in a set up role

 

Agreed. Really, any bullpen role would be a good fit for Pelfrey. Even in long relief I'd think he'd be able to add a little more velocity to his fastball.

[Thrylos]

2nd TJ wasn't necessary -- pressure likely caused by scarring from earlier surgery.

 

Here's hoping that this puts Pelfrey on a path where he can provide value to the Twins!

 

http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/blogs/262606271.html

 

 

No estimated date given on return but sounds like a minor procedure.

 

This is a kind of old news. Based on the diagnosis and his history, that was a done deal and out of the hat ten days ago. And still the Twins are not saying the whole story. It takes 2-3 months before he will be able to resume baseball with this arm. Pubmed Reference here. So we are talking mid August to September. And then he has to start getting arm strength, endurance etc and go to a rehab assignment likely. If you do the math, even in the best case scenario, it will be realistically impossible to return this season (MiLB seasons end in August.)

[JB_Iowa]

This is a kind of old news. Based on the diagnosis and his history, that was a done deal and out of the hat ten days ago. And still the Twins are not saying the whole story. It takes 2-3 months before he will be able to resume baseball with this arm. Pubmed Reference here. So we are talking mid August to September. And then he has to start getting arm strength, endurance etc and go to a rehab assignment likely. If you do the math, even in the best case scenario, it will be realistically impossible to return this season (MiLB seasons end in August.)

 

I don't think the Twins are hiding anything. That's pretty much what Berardino said as cited in my 2nd post.

 

I just spoke too soon (and was ill-informed) in the first post. My fault, not that of the Twins, for which I apologize. And the reason I made sure to post the Berardino article quickly.

[jorgenswest]

He has always performed much worse with runners on base. In relief, he would be best in a role where he starts an inning. That us assuming he has an arm that can recover quickly to be useful in any relief role. I don't see the fit.

[Thrylos]

I don't think the Twins are hiding anything. That's pretty much what Berardino said as cited in my 2nd post.

 

I just spoke too soon (and was ill-informed) in the first post. My fault, not that of the Twins, for which I apologize. And the reason I made sure to post the Berardino article quickly.

 

Not your fault at all and I was not picking on you.

 

Fact: The Twins knew it 10 days ago that surgery was happening and did not say anything.

Fact: The Twins know the timeline of this recovery. (or if they do not know, there is a bigger problem here)

Fact: The Twins did not (and still will not) say that he is done for the season.

 

That's the issue here...

[JB_Iowa]

I don't feel picked on. I just wanted to clear up that the misinformation was mine -- not anything I read from the Twins.

 

I see that on May 30, Rob Antony said they were going to treat it with anti-inflammatories for the time being but that Pelfrey was to see Dr. Andrews again.

 

"Hopefully, we're getting to the bottom of it with him," Antony said. "We're going to try to treat it with anti-inflammatories, and if he needs surgery, it'll be very minor and just clean up some scar tissue."

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20140530&content_id=77508262&notebook_id=77507278&vkey=notebook_min&c_id=min

 

 

So maybe downplaying it a little but anti-inflammatories, a conservative course of treatment, would probably have been the 1st choice before another surgery. By 6/4, they decided the anti-inflammatories weren't working and Pelfrey was scheduld for another visit w/Dr. Andrews.

 

Pelfrey saw Dr. Andrews yesterday (6/9) at which time they must have scheduled the clean-up surgery for today.

 

I'm not a big fan of Antony or this front office but I don't think there was any kind of cover-up here.

 

(Timeline info pretty good here: http://fantasynews.cbssports.com/fantasybaseball/players/playerpage/585032/mike-pelfrey)

[Thrylos]

(Timeline info pretty good here: http://fantasynews.cbssports.com/fantasybaseball/players/playerpage/585032/mike-pelfrey)

 

got to love this gem from there:

 

by Igor Mello | CBSSports.com

(5/30/14) Twins pitcher Mike Pelfrey was diagnosed with an ulnar nerve in his elbow but both his elbow and shoulder were structurally sound

 

Glad that he has an ulnar nerve

 

(they need an editor badly)

[Ultima Ratio]

I never knew the ulner was so close to the groin… Yowza!

[DaveW]

 

Fact: The Twins knew it 10 days ago that surgery was happening and did not say anything.

Fact: The Twins know the timeline of this recovery. (or if they do not know, there is a bigger problem here)

Fact: The Twins did not (and still will not) say that he is done for the season.

That's the issue here...

No, no it is not the issue here.

 

I get that you despise everyone in charge of the Twins org and want changes across the board...but you are really reaching here.

[Otto von Ballpark]

It does seem like the Twins have downplayed the Pelfrey situation this year, like they want to quietly hide their mistake. Then again, the injury is actually a somewhat legit excuse for it, and as much as he was projected as a member of the rotation, he's not making that much money either (although the second year guarantee was probably a bit much).

[nicksaviking]

I'm guessing the sugrey news came out of nowhere not because the Twins were hiding anything, but because the media didn't care enough about Pelfrey to continue asking about his situation. Since when does a club hold a press conference to announce a surgery for such a minor player in the system?

 

Why would they hide this? If anything it at least gives some plausible excuse for his poor performance after the boondoggle that was his multi-year contract.

 

And I'm far from a Twins appologist.

[Guest USAFChief]

I wonder if his accelerated return from his original TJS has any connection to this current issue.

 

In any case, I hope he can be a factor in 2015.

[Halsey Hall]

I figured he wasn't 100% right from the get go this year. He's a better pitcher than he was showing and something was amiss. He's got to be disgusted in some ways and relieved in others. Hopefully he'll return to have a good career.

[diehardtwinsfan]

Fact: The Twins knew it 10 days ago that surgery was happening and did not say anything.

 

Are the obligated to? I'm really not seeing a problem here. They probably also got a second opinion, and that's another thing where sometime it makes more sense to wait to release the info than to fire up the press. Bi-lateral leg weakness should have taught us something about that.

 

I'd also note that there are legal privacy issues when publicaly divulging a person's medical information.

 

Fact: The Twins know the timeline of this recovery. (or if they do not know, there is a bigger problem here)

 

Yes, and timelines vary. That's why it's an estimate.

 

Fact: The Twins did not (and still will not) say that he is done for the season.

 

That's the issue here...

 

I don't see an issue here either. There's a chance (albeit remote) that he's back yet this year. He's going on the 60 day regardless. There's nothing wrong with leaving the door open for a possible return in 2014.

 

I really don't see issues here.

[twinscowboysbulls]

Does this mean we are going to have to wait ANOTHER two years to see the 'enhanced' Pelfrey coming off of TJS?!?

[DaveW]

I wonder if his accelerated return from his original TJS has any connection to this current issue.

 

In any case, I hope he can be a factor in 2015.

 

Yeah, it's really too bad that this happened to him, by all accounts he seems like a stand up guy who likes playing in the org. Hopefully he can come back healthy in 2015 and contribute somewhere (even if it is as a 6th starter/bullpen type guy)

[Beezer07]

Does this mean we are going to have to wait ANOTHER two years to see the 'enhanced' Pelfrey coming off of TJS?!?

 

"Enhanced"? Did he get a robot arm installed? If so, I want one.

[Major League Ready]

The bottom line is none of this is really hurting the Team. It cost the owners some money but that is the extent of the problem. Next year, use him in long relief or 7th inning RP or not at all. I would be a lot more worried about Mauer and Nolasco. The Pelfrey problem really is not a problem.

[stringer bell]

I like Pelf. In Spring Training, he made a point to sign autographs. He talked at length to the kids. I am hopeful they found what was wrong with his arm and that he will provide a backup rotation option next year.

[TheLeviathan]

I know Pelfrey being on the DL alleviates some of my nerves.....

[h2oface]

This should be great news for the Twins. The longer Pelfrey is not pitching again for the Twins, the better the chances for the team to be more successful and the better the opportunity for Meyer and May to join the team. IF the Twins miraculously play themselves into the playoffs, there is only one starter on the team right now that I can see helping the Twins advance, and that is Hughes. Gibson has some hope. Nolasco and Correia, making every team a whole team of .310 hitters......... is not something to look forward to. Pelfrey may be a nice guy, and that is great, but helping the team win is the most important.

[jokin]

This should be great news for the Twins. The longer Pelfrey is not pitching again for the Twins, the better the chances for the team to be more successful and the better the opportunity for Meyer and May to join the team. IF the Twins miraculously play themselves into the playoffs, there is only one starter on the team right now that I can see helping the Twins advance, and that is Hughes. Gibson has some hope. Nolasco and Correia, making every team a whole team of .310 hitters......... is not something to look forward to. Pelfrey may be a nice guy, and that is great, but helping the team win is the most important.

 

And when they finally get around to 60-daying Pelfrey, they create room on the 40-man roster for somebody in AAA to come up, and either help the playoff run or get the prospect important experience to get him better ready for 2015.