Athletics righty Jarrod Parker will undergo an unspecified surgical procedure on his right elbow tomorrow, the club announced. Parker, who was in the midst of rehabbing from his second Tommy John surgery, was diagnosed recently with a fractured medial epicondyle.
On the positive side, it appears that Parker will not require another UCL replacement, per a tweet from Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Rather, he’ll be going under the knife to “stabilize” the fracture.
Needless to say, the overall situation is terribly disappointing for both Parker and the A’s. The former ninth overall pick owns a 3.68 ERA over 384 total big league innings, all logged before he even reached his age-25 season. But that’s approximately where the good news ended, as Parker — now 26, has not thrown in the big leagues in either of the last two seasons.
At this point, there is at least some possibility that Parker will be a non-tender candidate. He is arb-eligible for two more seasons after this one, giving additional cause for Oakland to try to bring him back to health. Then, there’s the fact that the A’s defeated Parker in an arbitration hearing over the winter, leaving him with a $850K salary that would very likely be repeated next year — hardly a significant investment. Of course, the prognosis and timetable, which will presumably drive the decisionmaking, remain unreported.
Hoping this kid is able to get healthy. He looked really good in his first two years in the league.
it’s too bad. I wonder if he can learn to pitch lefty….?
Considering the A’s paid Ben Sheets $10 million after being off for a year because of a torn flexor, the odds of them non tendering Parker are slim to none. Wishing him luck with his sugery/rehab.
This stinks but at least he’s not having another TJS. Hope he manages to make a comeback.
We’re to the point now in history where another surgeon comes along and discovers a new surgical procedure for these pitchers and it’ll take on the name of that pitcher. 20 years from now people will be discussing the latest pitcher to undergo Jarrod Parker surgery. Just too bad…these guys put in so much time growing up and working on their game and then it gets derailed. I know its not as serious or tragic as many diseases….but still not good for anyone to undergo medical misfortune.
The A’s should just release him and let him retire.
He can retire whether the A’s release him or not. He still wants to play.
I still believe Parker is worth the the wait. If is surgery goes well, he’s the kind of guy who can bounce back from this. If it does not go well, then the A’s can think about giving up on him. At least he doesn’t have to have a 3rd TJ surgery. I wish he all the luck in the world and hope to see him back in the green and gold some day.