NewsOutman officially done for the year
A's left-hander undergoes Tommy John elbow surgery
By Mychael Urban / MLB.com
06/30/09 9:29 PM ET
OAKLAND -- As expected, the news that came out of Birmingham, Ala., on Tuesday wasn't good for the A's.Rookie left-hander Josh Outman went in for left elbow surgery with noted specialist James Andrews, and the result was the dreaded ligament-replacement procedure, also known as Tommy John surgery.
Outman, 24, is officially done for the year, and history suggests he could miss the 2010 season as well. The recovery time for pitchers after such a surgery is typically no less than 12 months, with 18 months on the high side.
Andrews also removed a bone spur from what A's manager Bob Geren, working without notes before the second game of a three-game series against the Tigers at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, called Outman's left "electronon."
The word for which he was searching is olecranon, which is at the upper part of the ulna, one of two bones in the forearm.
Close enough. The removal of a bone spur is the least of Outman's problems -- and for that matter, the problems of the A's.
Without Outman, who was 4-1 with a 3.48 ERA and the biggest surprise of the young starting rotation, Oakland needs someone to emerge and fill in the large shoes of Outman.
"After the All-Star break, we've got a pretty nasty stretch of consecutive games," Geren said of his team's 28-games-in-28-days schedule from July 16 to Aug. 12. "Ideally, someone will have settled into Josh's spot by then, because we're obviously going to need five guys going every fifth day for a long time."
Lefty Gio Gonzalez, who has a world of talent and impressive Minor League numbers, has yet to prove himself on the Major League stage despite having several opportunities to do so.
Gonzalez, 23, is clearly the first option. He got the call to spot-start before the club got a handle on the severity of Outman's injury, and despite allowing 10 hits and two walks over 3 2/3 innings last week against the Giants, Gonzalez was given another start Tuesday against the Tigers.
Lefty Dana Eveland, who was mostly solid in a back-end role in Oakland's rotation last season, is another option. Optioned to Triple-A Sacramento in early May after going 1-2 with a 7.40 ERA in six games (five starts) this year, Eveland, 25, is 6-1 with a 3.62 ERA in 11 starts with the River Cats.
Eveland's lone loss in the Minors came Sunday, when he gave up three runs on eight hits over 4 2/3 innings.
Righty Edgar Gonzalez, 26, has made 37 starts in the big leagues, including two for the A's this year. Geren, however, has expressed reluctance to remove him from his current long-relief role.
Mychael Urban is a national writer for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
