Jake Petricka Undergoes Elbow Surgery

White Sox righty Jake Petricka underwent a nerve transposition and flexor tendon debridement in his right elbow, Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune writes. He’ll require about three to four months of rest and rehab before he’ll be able to resume throwing.

Petricka, 29, compiled 26 strikeouts against just six walks in his 25 2/3 innings of action this year, though he also coughed up twenty earned runs on 39 hits while battling through elbow issues. That wasn’t quite the year he hoped for after missing much of 2016 following hip surgery.

The South Siders paid Petricka $900K in 2017 and project to owe him about $1.1MM for the season to come. That’s not a lot of scratch for a pitcher that turned in 144 1/3 frames of 3.24 ERA ball through his first three seasons in the majors, though it remains to be seen whether the Sox will want to promise a 40-man spot to Petricka — particularly if there’s any concern as to how he’ll bounce back from the surgery.

Whether or not Petricka is retained, the organization will be in need of quite a lot of bullpen depth after dealing away multiple veterans over the course of the 2017 campaign. Just how much payroll the organization intends to commit in what’s sure to be a losing season isn’t yet known, but it’s a good bet that the team will bring in a handful or two of experienced hurlers to battle for roster spots in camp — while also keeping an eye out for waiver claim and Rule 5 opportunities.