Mike Pelfrey is going to have the dreaded Tommy John Surgery. This surgery used to be the death sentence of pitchers years ago. Now it usually results in them returning in a year’s time, just as good as they were before, and sometimes even better.
This injury could not have come at a worse time for Big Pelf or the Mets. It was becoming obvious that Pelfrey was not going to be here for the long term. With Niese’s new deal, Santana still under contract, and all the young power arms set to arrive in the next two years Mike’s days appeared to be numbered.
He struggled mightily over the past few seasons, and was becoming one of those every other year guys. He is good one year and bad the next. Mike is set to become a free agent at the end of the 2013 season. He was looking to put things together so he could earn himself a decent contract as he was still in the midst of his so-called prime years.
We saw way to much of this over the past few seasons
The Mets were hoping he would pitch like the guy we saw two years ago who won 15 games, made the all start team and was named the opening day starter in Santana’s absence last season. As the discussions grew during this spring about his struggles, rumors swirled about him even being cut all together. The Mets of course denied those rumors, but I’m sure it was at least brought up.
The Mets will now get nothing for the big right hander. If he had pitched well this season, he could have been dealt later in the year for a few young players. Now, he will sit all season rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, and we may have seen the last of Mike Pelfrey in a Mets uniform. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was non-tendered at the end of this season so they don’t have to pay him through arbitration.
He has likely thrown his last pitch for the Amazins, something I can’t say I’m not happy about. I wish it wasn’t this way though. It would have been nice for him to be moved on to a different team, change of scenery and put things together for himself. It would have been nice for us to get something for the once promising first round pick. He still had value even with his struggles. He had never been injured, he pitched 200 innings each season, and was still young enough and had shown enough for teams to think maybe they could work with him to make him more consistent.
I mean, if someone is willing to take A.J. Burnett in his mid-thirties I’m sure there would have been a few takers for Pelfrey.
Mike’s return to the mound probably won’t be until the around the start of Spring Training next season. There is a good chance he will be a free agent at that time, but this is also the Mets so he could still be here as well. He will probably not get that multi-year contract he would have been seeking. Instead, he will probably have to go on 1 year deals until he proves he’s healthy and a more consistent pitcher deserving of a yearly spot on someone’s rotation.
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April 27, 2012
