Surgery an abrupt stop for Kaprielian
This was supposed to be James Kaprielian’s comeback year, the season the 23-year-old righty returned from injury, stayed healthy, fast-tracked through the minors and became a late-season contributor at the major-league level.
The Yankees envisioned it. Kaprielian did too. It would’ve been intriguing to watch.
Instead, Kaprielian is going under the knife, facing Tommy John surgery on Tuesday, and then the grueling 14-to17 month rehab process that comes after it. Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who offered further consultation to Kaprielian following an initial MRI taken in Tampa, will perform the procedure in Los Angeles.
The news wasn’t a surprise by any means given all the ominous signals emanating from the organization. Kaprielian complained of discomfort in his right elbow and was placed on the minor-league disabled list just before his 2017 season was set to begin at Class A Tampa.
But it’s a devastating blow to the Yankees and their top pitching prospect nonetheless.
“We met last night,” Kaprielian’s agent, Scott Boras, told the Daily News. “And it was something where, after the discussion with the doctors and compiling the proper information and having a history with pitchers, you don’t want to send a pitcher out to the mound where he’s going to have something in the back of his mind that’s troubling him from start to start. The surgery allows us to alleviate those concerns.”
Kaprielian, the team’s first-round pick in 2015, missed nearly all of last season due to a flexor tendon injury in his right elbow.
“Any injury, any time a player has a setback, it hurts,” Joe Girardi said. “I feel for the kid. He worked very hard to get back.”
The Yankees have had a tough time developing starting pitching over the years. But with Kaprielian, they thought they had something.
“I want to be a No. 1,” he said during the offseason. “I want to be the guy. I want the ball. I want to be an ace.”
It brings me back to a conversation I was having with Kaprielian during the spring. While talking about his return from his injury last season, he stopped mid-sentence to knock on his wooden locker.
“He didn’t require surgery, and was hoping it would stay that way.
It was supposed to be the start of a special comeback year — one that ended with him pitching in pinstripes. “That’s the goal,” he said at the time. Now, Kaprielian has to wait.