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Brandon McCarthy Has Torn UCL

By Jeff Todd | April 27, 2015 at 6:19pm CDT

6:57pm: McCarthy says he likely will undergo Tommy John surgery, Shaikin tweets.

6:19pm: Dodgers starter Brandon McCarthy has suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter links). Manager Don Mattingly declined to say whether the righty would undergo Tommy John surgery, but it would obviously end his season if he does.

The 31-year-old signed a four-year, $48MM deal to join the Dodgers after posting his first 200 inning tally last year. While the results were not quite there, he worked to a career-best strikeout rate of 7.9 per nine and seemed primed for a strong 2015 campaign. Though McCarthy came with a history of arm ailments, Los Angeles decided that the risk was worth taking.

McCarthy was off to a slow start this year, due mostly to struggles with the long ball. Over just 23 frames, he had already permitted a league-high nine dingers, though he has also retired an impressive 29 batters by way of strikeout.

Now, assuming he undergoes a TJ procedure, McCarthy will have to wait until some time in 2016 to prove that the long balls were just a short sample quirk. Recovery time is generally over a year, meaning that McCarthy will probably require at least an early-season fill-in next season — assuming that he makes steady progress.

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Los Angeles Dodgers Newsstand Brandon McCarthy

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View Comments (94)

Comments

  1. JacobyWanKenobi

    8 years ago

    Ouch, that’s awful. NY matrix dodged that one. Great guy though, really a shame.

    Reply
  2. The Left Shark

    8 years ago

    The thing everyone expected finally happened. Come back strong Brandon.

    Reply
    • Cam Hodgson-Dwyer

      8 years ago

      Can’t have expected a torn UCL.

      A blown shoulder, knee, wrist, ribs, groin, ring finger or a severe case of Gastro..

      But not a torn UCL.

      Reply
      • The Left Shark

        8 years ago

        Just referring to injury in general

        Reply
        • Cam Hodgson-Dwyer

          8 years ago

          Hah, fair enough. In fact, considering his history, I’m surprised he doesn’t have smallpox.

      • stymeedone

        8 years ago

        McCarthy lives on the DL. Being back on it is what everyone expected. Half a season in NY glossed over the rest of his career.

        Reply
        • Cam Hodgson-Dwyer

          8 years ago

          It’s more of a reference to picking a torn UCL. Injuries in general though? Yeah, absolutely – he’s got the durability of a paper bag in a thunderstorm.

  3. Seamaholic

    8 years ago

    One of classiest comments (on Twitter) I’ve ever seen from a pitcher going through this. Seems like a terrific guy.

    Reply
    • Vandals Took The Handles

      8 years ago

      He’s had a lot of practice.

      Reply
  4. Leon Barry

    8 years ago

    And now let’s resume the Hamels rumors

    Reply
    • stymeedone

      8 years ago

      To the Dodgers???? 😛

      Reply
  5. Tre-Day

    8 years ago

    Well thats no good. Feel for the guy.

    With McCarthy out and Ryu struggling to keep up with an MLB workload (plus the ticking time bomb that is Brett Anderson), I wonder what our next move is. I doubt they overreact and go for a guy like Hamels, but something has to be done.

    Reply
    • MB923

      8 years ago

      Can we give you CC Sabathia?

      Reply
      • Cam Hodgson-Dwyer

        8 years ago

        The Dodgers wouldn’t even consider paying the freight charge. Which would be hefty for CC.

        Reply
        • Joseph Gonzalez

          8 years ago

          Considering how they took on the biggest salary dump in mlb history with that boston trade I find this post laughable lol

        • Steven Garrison

          8 years ago

          If they want an ace, I am pretty sure they will look at Cueto and Hamels.

        • Joseph Gonzalez

          8 years ago

          Isn’t cueto a fa after this season ? If so I would just let him hit the market. And the more injuries that hall pen and the more that teams are looking for a top starter will make hammels cost sky rocket. Is he even worth trading for now ?

        • Steven Garrison

          8 years ago

          For the dodgers I look at it like this as well, Not sure if Greinke will opt out, which I think he will, then if he leaves, Hamels would be a fall back option and another ace to go with Kershaw. But if they don’t get Hamels , maybe they just stand pat. And the dodgers and red sox have the right prospects to get the deal done if they wanted hamels.

        • Joseph Gonzalez

          8 years ago

          Teams better prepare for amaro to gut the teams farm system if he’s trading hammels and we all have seen how he handles his vets with trades. Imagine an ace type starter in his prime with some years of control left on his current deal lol. For the best deal possible imo the team trading with philly needs to take on most of hammels contract AND take on Ryan albatross Howard ‘ s contract with him

        • MattHollidaysForearms

          8 years ago

          If any team does that, Philly will be getting peanuts in return. If you pair Howard with Hamels, it completely deteriorates any value Hamels has. Best to DFA Howard, get Franco AB’s, and deal Hamels for some legitimate talent.

        • Cam Hodgson-Dwyer

          8 years ago

          They had something to gain with that trade – ie Gonzo. Crawford’s still sticking around too.

          CC doesn’t provide much besides a name.

      • Tre-Day

        8 years ago

        Dear god no.

        Reply
        • MB923

          8 years ago

          Well he’s better than some of the other random pick and choose SP that the Dodgers have tossed around lately such as David Huff and Scott Proctor (as I mentioned below)

        • Valkyrie

          8 years ago

          No he isn’t.

  6. MB923

    8 years ago

    The Dodgers will pick up and drop starters left and right. David Huff and Scott Baker have started games for this for crying out loud (Baker’s wasn’t terrible, but you get my point)

    Reply
  7. Draven Moss

    8 years ago

    Great guy, hoping nothing but the best for him, and a speedy recovery. Seems like the Dodgers can’t catch a break lately.

    Reply
  8. Nathan Walter

    8 years ago

    If I were a betting man, I would have bet on Brett Anderson going down before McCarthy. Luckily, I am not.

    Reply
    • Seamaholic

      8 years ago

      Anderson’s nearing some sort of record. Nearly a whole month healthy.

      Reply
  9. cxz

    8 years ago

    This is really disappointing, I grew to appreciate his work during his stint in NY last year. Guy is hilarious and universally liked, just a good presence for the game, it’s a shame that he’s a magnet for unfortunate injuries. I assume LA is going to have to explore some trades at this point, they can’t expect Huff and Baker to be long term solutions.

    Reply
    • Puig Power

      8 years ago

      There’s a few farm options like Zach Lee.

      Reply
      • cxz

        8 years ago

        I don’t know that the internal options are exactly optimal for the long run, though.

        Reply
        • Draven Moss

          8 years ago

          Beachy is coming back too. He could be a good option for them if he can get it together.

        • cxz

          8 years ago

          I forgot about him, that’s a good point. Though all things considered, I don’t feel as good about their rotation now as I did before Ryu and McCarthy got hurt, Anderson is still going to be a question mark health wise,they’ve got to at least be thinking about a second tier option I’d have to imagine.

        • David Coonce

          8 years ago

          I’d be wary of Beachy as any kind of solution; second TJ guys have an awful record of success.

  10. The Left Shark

    8 years ago

    Anyone want John Danks? Dodgers? Cardinals?

    Reply
    • Nathan Walter

      8 years ago

      Only if the White Sox take David Huff….. wait… no, keep him in LA

      Reply
      • MB923

        8 years ago

        I thought Huff got DFA after his start?

        Reply
        • Nathan Walter

          8 years ago

          I guess he did. Dang.

  11. iliekcereal

    8 years ago

    This guy cannot catch a break.

    Reply
    • Tre-Day

      8 years ago

      Well, except for that 48 million dollar one this winter

      Reply
  12. Karan Ashar

    8 years ago

    Ruben Amaro Jr. looks smart now knowing both Cardinals(Wainwright) and now Dodgers(McCarthy) have SP need which increases his leverage.

    Reply
    • iLIKEtheGIANTSmucho

      8 years ago

      I don’t think RAJ was thinking “Better hold onto Hamels, because I bet multiple teams with some budget flexibility will have season-ending injuries in the rotation.” These injuries probably only increase the odds STL or LA goes after Hamels, but I don’t think that has anything to do with Philly betting on something like this to happen

      Reply
      • Dylan

        8 years ago

        Actually, I kind of disagree. In fact, I believe Gillick said they weren’t going rush trading Cole because “Injuries can happen.” I think it just pains people to think Ruben has done something smart.

        Reply
      • Valkyrie

        8 years ago

        Actually, I definitely disagree. First, I’m not a Phillies fan. At all.
        That said, the Phillies had no compelling reason to sell short on Hamels in spring training. The Sox could have gotten him for the right mix of their over-rated prospects but chose not to. And probably now regret that decision given the state of their pitching.
        RAJ stuck to his guns, took the criticism (unjust criticism IMO) that came with that and now is sitting in the proverbial catbird seat. The Dodgers have a deep farm with REAL prospects and the Cards system, while not the deepest, has some excellent choices.
        One indisputable, immutable truth in baseball? Starting pitchers are going to get injured. Maybe RAJ isn’t as bad as many of you seem to think.

        Reply
        • DrRamblings

          8 years ago

          RAJ is definitely as bad as most people purport, but in this instance things are going his way.

    • Steven Garrison

      8 years ago

      The asking price for Hamels is still high the last I checked, If the dodgers were willing to go after an ace, Hamels is the way to go or go after Cueto for a year rental. But then they also have to think about if Greinke opts out of his contract.

      Reply
  13. THE RING EMPIRE

    8 years ago

    Good job Cash!!!

    Otherwise we would have been stuck with this guy.

    Reply
    • Nathan Walter

      8 years ago

      I get it… you always want to try and avoid injury. But he’s never had a history with the elbow. It could have been any team. It’s not like they knew this injury was going to happen.

      Reply
      • THE RING EMPIRE

        8 years ago

        Oh, I agree, it could happen to anyone. For all I know Tanaka might be next. But a guy like McCarthy who’s been through injury after injury it was simply unwise to invest that much money into him.

        His result have never been that great either

        Reply
        • Lionel Bossman Craft

          8 years ago

          Leave Tanaka out of this. Every time someone gets hurt his name is mentioned.

        • MattHollidaysForearms

          8 years ago

          Because he has a partially torn UCL. He isn’t being implicated unfairly.

        • Lionel Bossman Craft

          8 years ago

          Didn’t Wainwright pitch for a few years with one?

        • MattHollidaysForearms

          8 years ago

          I don’t think so. I think Wainwright got TJ.

        • THE RING EMPIRE

          8 years ago

          For good reason…

        • Lionel Bossman Craft

          8 years ago

          Can you draw up a list of players who won’t hit the DL this year?

        • THE RING EMPIRE

          8 years ago

          No, but I could draw up a list of players who already have partially torn UCL’s

      • vwnut13

        8 years ago

        Yeah, but when you overpay for a guy and he gets hurt, you end up with an overpaid guy who is hurt.

        Reply
      • Marvin Marshall

        8 years ago

        It’s his throwing shoulder that has the injury history. Almost every season, he seems to have a DL stint with a shoulder injury about a 1/3 of the way through the season.

        Reply
    • Valkyrie

      8 years ago

      I knew somewhere in the comments on this story, there would be a Yankee fan being what most Yankee fans are. But, we know you can’t help it.

      Reply
      • THE RING EMPIRE

        8 years ago

        What, so I’m not allowed to show relief for what could have been a bad move for the Yankees. Please take your snarky comments somewhere else.

        Reply
  14. RATTY1

    8 years ago

    Ouch!..bummer

    Reply
  15. Matt

    8 years ago

    all these teams just need one Dillon Gee to right the ship…

    Reply
    • Cam Hodgson-Dwyer

      8 years ago

      Absolutely not.

      Reply
    • DrRamblings

      8 years ago

      Just because he’ll be the #6 or #7 at the end of the season for the Mets doesn’t mean he wouldn’t be a solid #5 on most staffs and possibly a #4 on some of the weaker staffs. His #’s are league avg last time I checked; that is what you realistically hope for w. the backend of your rotation.

      Reply
  16. Mike1L

    8 years ago

    That’s really a shame. Enjoyed watching him work while he was with the Yankees. Seemed to know what he was doing out there and by all accounts a good teammate. I always though TJ surgery was uncommon, but now it’s the biggest growth industry in the sport.

    Reply
  17. Red_Line_9

    8 years ago

    Dodgers are paying everyone but me to not play for them this season. I’ve always been late to the party anyway.

    Reply
  18. Cam Hodgson-Dwyer

    8 years ago

    Killer. Despite a few dingers in a small sample size, he was looking really good. Had cranked his velocity up to touch 96, was getting a lot of swings and misses. Very rare that a guy seems to click past the midpoint of his career and add some real velocity like that.

    Unfortunately, he went click, then his arm went pop.

    Reply
    • David Coonce

      8 years ago

      Actually, a sudden velocity spike tends to foretell Tommy John, as Will Carroll pointed out several years ago, when Strasburg’s velocity ticked up to 100 in college. Sure enough, his UCL went soon after.

      Reply
      • Ad-Rock

        8 years ago

        Really? That’s interesting. Did Carroll have any explanation for why?

        Reply
        • David Coonce

          8 years ago

          The article’s on Baseball Prospectus, archived, but you have to be a subscriber. I think the theory had to do with the muscles around the elbow unable to keep up with the other arm muscles that had been worked to increase the velocity (biceps, triceps, etc). The bottom line was that a sudden velocity increase can often mean: be wary of a pitcher’s possibility of TJ.

  19. nando

    8 years ago

    Anyone think Julio Urias making the move to the show?

    Mccarthy is Friedman and Zaidi’s first and biggest bust move.

    Reply
    • Hodor

      8 years ago

      Get ready for more. For as many good moves as Friedman made for the Rays, he made an equal amount of bad moves.

      Reply
    • Cam Hodgson-Dwyer

      8 years ago

      Next year, maybe. Urias is still on a pitch limit down in AA. No use bringing him up for 4-5 innings at a time in the bigs.

      Reply
    • David Coonce

      8 years ago

      No way Urias is in the majors this year.

      Reply
  20. Jim Delaney

    8 years ago

    TIme to call up Urias and call Cincinnati and give up whatever is needed for CUETO, do it NOW!!!!

    Reply
    • Paul Michaels

      8 years ago

      You want Cueto you’re gonna have to give up Urias.

      Reply
      • Nathan Walter

        8 years ago

        Or worse… Seager.

        Reply
      • MattHollidaysForearms

        8 years ago

        3/4 season of Cueto for 6 years of a consensus top-15 prospect in baseball? Ya I’ll pass every time.

        Reply
    • PI by Nature

      8 years ago

      The price will be super-high. When you are dealing from a position of weakness, the price always goes up.

      Reply
  21. Wooltron

    8 years ago

    I really need to learn how to perform Tommy John surgery. You would make a killing these days.

    Reply
  22. Cullen Quinn

    8 years ago

    will zach lee get called up now?

    Reply
    • Cam Hodgson-Dwyer

      8 years ago

      It’s probably make or break year for him, so no time like the present. Getting out of that launching pad in Albuquerque was a good start, that place is a pitchers cemetery.

      Reply
  23. Vandals Took The Handles

    8 years ago

    Strikeouts by pitchers are a bogus stat.

    Reply
    • Joseph Gonzalez

      8 years ago

      Considering that a strikeouts prevent batters from putting the ball in play (which is how runs are created) strikeouts by pitchers are anything but overrated.

      Reply
      • MattHollidaysForearms

        8 years ago

        Well said. It’s hard to score runs when you’re walking back to the dugout.

        Reply
  24. Ray Ray

    8 years ago

    Since people seem to want the DH implemented in the NL because of the Wainwright injury, should we just start using pitching machines because of this injury? #sarcasm

    Reply
  25. Steven Garrison

    8 years ago

    I saw this coming from the beginning of the season, McCarthy having an injury prone history, and Anderson will probably be next with his injury prone history as well. Also with Ryu on the dl still, will this open up the rumors of the dodgers going out and getting Cueto or Hamels?

    Reply
    • Cam Hodgson-Dwyer

      8 years ago

      Feels like the floodgates have been open on those rumors for quite a while. I’m sure Freidman and co will kick the tires again, but Urias/Seager will probably be the same hurdle as before. If anything, the price has gone up, and I don’t think the Dodgers are desperate enough.

      Reply
      • Steven Garrison

        8 years ago

        Urias and Seager will prolly be the main piece in the deal if the dodgers want hamels or Pederson plus other prospects.

        Reply
        • CDADodgers

          8 years ago

          If you have not been watching the moves they have been making, all 45 of them, then you’re not paying attention to the front office.
          Stan said in the beginning of the season, he wants to promote young guys.

          The doors between the Dodgers minor league teams and the Major League team is revolving.

  26. guest_54

    8 years ago

    It is interesting to me that people are, seemingly, genuinely surprised that he is injured. Granted, as mentioned by some, his history of injuries hasn’t consistently been elbow issues; but, he’s (unfortunately) proven to be less than a workhorse due to several injuries throughout his career.

    I guess I’m thinking that I can’t be the only one who was expecting “something” to sideline him and that the Dodgers were taking a HUGE risk by signing him to a four year deal. I’m wondering if Friedman and company expected him to turn some corner of durability at this stage of his career (as a 31 year old) due to a strong performance for the Yankees down the stretch?

    I actually expected to see multiple sarcastic comments like, “Who would have ever expected him to get injured?!?!”

    Just seems odd that some find it surprising. Anyway, here’s hoping to a speedy recovery!

    Reply
  27. Bradley Maravalli

    8 years ago

    So when is the MLB going to start getting to the bottom of why there are so many UCL injuries? Really frustrating to watch how all these pitchers go through the same injury and not have a solution on how to avoid it.

    Reply
  28. meep

    8 years ago

    where zach lee shot. dude has to prove him self in the majors at some point why not now

    Reply
  29. Michael

    8 years ago

    I was all on board with this deal. Ill have the egg on my face odorizzi.

    Reply

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