Teams eyeing Bobby Seay as a potential buy-low option for their 2011 bullpens have to cross the lefty off their lists. Seay told John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press that he will have labrum surgery on his throwing shoulder later this month. It will take 10-12 months to recover from the procedure so it appears that Seay, who missed this season with shoulder trouble, will miss the entire 2011 season as well.
The 32-year-old was effective for the Tigers from 2007-09 when he averaged 62 appearances per season and posted a 3.75 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9. If he had pitched similarly in 2010, Seay would have hit free agency as one of the more appealing available left-handed relievers. Even a few effective outings could have convinced a team to take a chance on him. Instead, Seay won't be an impact addition until 2012, at the earliest and teams will have to look elsewhere for left-handed relievers.
When he does return, Seay says he wants to “wear a Tigers uniform again and get big outs for [manager] Jim Leyland."
doesnt every1 whos on the tigers want to come back??
Sure seems like it. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not that bad of a place to be. The Metro Detroit area is very nice in some parts, Comerica Park is a beautiful stadium, and the Tigers have a great fanbase.
It also probably helps that we have a recent history of dolling out ridiculously priced contracts to guys who wouldn’t find that much money anywhere else.
The Tigers must have one of the stupidest medical staffs in the big leagues. Seay sits out the season, then decides to have surgery so he can sit out next season too. Brilliant!
the tigers have 1 of the best medical staffs in the legue actually. seay didnt want to have surgery then, his shoulder continued to hurt so he came back
If I remember correctly, Seay wanted to exhaust every other avenue before having surgery, as baseballdude said. If another option works w/o having to go under the knife, why not try it out 1st?
my guess, he’s done in Detroit
This implies that he would have played in Detroit if healthy, not sure that it is accurate.
Bobby would have been a free agent after this season, but I’d have bet on the Tigers giving him a minor league contract to let him rehab and see if he could come back. He postponed surgery all season long to see if he could salvage part of the season, but it seemed apparent to a distant observer (how’s that work?) that he was done for the season a long time ago. Some reports said the surgery would be “career threatening”. Seay was injured last season, but was given a 2.45 million contract settlement after accepting arbitration in December. Obviously, he wasn’t healthy when the deal was done, and he never made it back this season. I’m still guessing that the Tigers will let him work with the equipment and facilities in Lakeland to rehab, and give him a shot at returning. Bobby was one of the very few NRI’s that Dombrowski relies upon (as in avoids free agents) to fill major roles in the bullpen, that has actually panned out for them.
big_mikey
I always thought bobby did a great job untill his injury I think he deserves a chance to prove himself powerful curve and fastball great stuff hope he returns!!!