SUNDAY: Pinder will visit renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews during the upcoming week for a second opinion, the Yankees announced. He’s currently leaning toward having Tommy John surgery, according to manager Joe Girardi (Twitter link via the Lohud Yankees Blog).
SATURDAY: An MRI on Yankees right-hander Branden Pinder revealed a UCL tear in his pitching elbow, reports Brendan Kuty of NJ Advance Media (Twitter link). Pinder is currently undecided about whether to undergo Tommy John surgery, according to Kuty. If he does, he’ll join Nick Rumbelow as the second Yankees reliever to require the surgery this season.
Pinder has been a member of the Yankees organization since they used a 16th-round draft pick on him in 2011. After climbing up the ranks in the minors, Pinder made his major league debut last season. The fastball- and slider-heavy 27-year-old tossed 27 2/3 innings of 2.93 ERA ball in 25 appearances out of the Yankees’ bullpen, also putting up an 8.13 K/9 and 4.55 BB/9. Pinder threw five innings this year, four in Triple-A and one with the Yankees, before landing on the disabled list earlier this week with a right elbow strain. The team subsequently called up fellow righty Nick Goody to replace him on the roster.
Terrible news. Only good news for Pinder is that he was up in the majors at the time of injury and will accrue MLB pay and service time. Get well, Branden.
Pitchers today put so much strain on their elbows that they blow them out easily. It’s not unheard of for someone to have several Tommy John surgeries in their career.
There should be a study about size of ball compared to using a smaller ball like used in Japanese league. Japanese pitchers seem to have problems once they throw in majors. May be just worn out in Japanese league already.