White Sox righty Gavin Floyd will undergo season-ending surgery tomorrow in New York to repair the ulnar collateral ligament and a torn flexor muscle in his pitching elbow, announced the team today. The procedure has a 14-19 month recovery period, according to the press release.
Floyd, 30, may have thrown his last pitch for the White Sox. He's eligible for free agency after the season; the team exercised his $9.5MM club option last October. Floyd's expected recovery period is longer than the typical one for Tommy John surgery, presumably because of the torn flexor muscle from which he also must recover. It appears he'll be ready to pitch in mid-July of 2014 in the best case, with a chance of missing all of next season. Floyd, who is represented by Moye Sports Associates, seems in line for a one-year deal with a low base salary and perhaps a club option for 2015.
Floyd was drafted fourth overall by the Phillies in 2001 and after appearing in parts of three seasons with them was traded with Gio Gonzalez to the White Sox for Freddy Garcia in '06. Garcia made only 11 starts for the Phillies and Gonzalez never pitched in the Majors for the Sox, but Floyd pitched over 1,000 big league innings for Chicago over parts of seven seasons. From 2008-12, Floyd averaged 190 innings a year with a 4.12 ERA. He won 17 games with a 3.84 ERA in '08, leading to a four-year, $15.5MM contract that ultimately became a five-year, $25MM deal once the option was exercised.
