Milwaukee Brewers' Lefty Needs Tommy John Surgery, Putting Career in Doubt
After getting an MRI this week, it's been determined that Milwaukee Brewers' lefty Wade Miley needs Tommy John surgery. At 37 years old, he's set to miss the rest of this season and most or all of next season. This could very well put his career in doubt.
UPDATE, FRI, 4:45 p.m. ET: Unfortunately, Miley needs Tommy John surgery. Given that he's 37 years old and is set to miss most or all of the next two seasons, you have to wonder if this could be it for the veteran. Miley has a mutual option in his contract, which is now sure to be declined by the team.
Per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com:
Bad news for Wade Miley and the Brewers: The 37-year-old lefty needs Tommy John surgery. He’ll spend the next 10-12 months rehabbing and then decide whether to continue his career.
McCalvy adds that Miley is currently leaning towards trying to come back from this injury, but there's obviously a lot of time to evaluate.
THURSDAY:
The Milwaukee Brewers recently placed left-handed starter Wade Miley on the injured list because of an elbow issue.
Days later, they remain in a worrisome holding pattern, according to Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal-Constitution:
The results of Wade Miley’s MRI were inconclusive, Pat Murphy said. He flew to Cincinnati today for an in-person arthogram to further examine the elbow and see what the extent, if any, of the ligament damage was.
Obviously the hope is that there's no ligament damage because Miley is a very valuable part of the Brewers rotation. After trading away Corbin Burnes and Adrian Houser this offseason, and after losing Brandon Woodruff to injury, Miley is being counted on for a lot for Murphy's squad.
The 37-year-old re-signed with the Brewers this offseason and is currently 0-1 with a 6.43 ERA in two starts. He is in the 14th year of his career with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox, Seattle Mariners, Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs and Brewers.
He's 108-99 lifetime with a 4.07 ERA, winning a career-high 16 games back in 2011. He was an All-Star that season.
Entering play on Thursday, the Brewers are a surprising 15-8. They lead the National League Central by 0.5 games over the Chicago Cubs, which is also a surprise considering the loss of the aforementioned pitchers.
The Brewers are finishing a series with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday afternoon before taking on the New York Yankees for a series beginning on Friday night.
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