Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Felix Doubront underwent Tommy John surgery on Tuesday.
Continue for updates.
Doubront’s Estimated Recovery Time Is 12-18 Months
Tuesday, April 12
Jane Lee of MLB.com reported Doubront’s surgery was successful, and the pitcher will begin his rehab on Friday. Doubront’s wife posted a photo of the pitcher on Twitter after the procedure:
On Monday, the San Francisco Chronicle‘s Susan Slusser noted the timetable for Doubront’s eventual return, based on the span often associated with those undergoing Tommy John surgery for the first time.
The 28-year-old southpaw began his career with the Boston Red Sox but has bounced around a lot since 2014 in brief stints with the Chicago Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays and now with the A’s.
Doubront has a unique sweeping delivery but hasn’t lived up to his potential in the big leagues, posting a career record of 31-26 with a 4.89 ERA to date. Now he has an uphill climb just to get back to the mound in light of Monday’s severe injury news.
Based on the rather surprising move the A’s made in the first place to keep Doubront in their rotation and option Jesse Hahn to Triple-A, it stands to reason Hahn will get the call-up to be Oakland’s new No. 5 starter.
Twenty-six-year-old Sonny Gray, who is a solid ace but is the only proven commodity in the Oakland rotation, headlines the A’s staff. Hahn, Kendall Graveman and Chris Bassitt have potential but are inexperienced.
Manager Bob Melvin shouldn’t have too much trouble adjusting to Doubront’s absence. It’s bound to create even more opportunities for Graveman, Bassitt and Hahn, who will hopefully round out a solid staff of the future using the 2016 campaign as a springboard, pivotal development year.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com