RHP Miller considering Tommy John surgery
Shelby Miller has a tear in the ulnar collateral ligament and a flexor strain in his elbow, and the Diamondbacks righthander is considering undergoing Tommy John surgery, a procedure that would end his season and likely sideline him until at least the middle of 2018.
Miller said he’s still deciding the best course of action, whether it be surgery or a rest-and-rehab route that also includes platelet-rich plasma and/or stemcell injections meant to stimulate healing.
“It sucks,” Miller said. “It’s not good news. You never want to be put in this kind of situation and never would you think that it would happen to you. It is what it is. It’s just one of those things that you can’t really control. I’m pretty torn up about not being able to pitch for a while.”
Miller began experiencing tightness
in his elbow during his start on Sunday afternoon against the Dodgers, and spent the ensuing days soliciting opinions from three surgeons. It’s the latest setback for a pitcher whose time with the Diamondbacks has been challenging. He struggled badly last year, spending much of the second half in the minor leagues, and appeared to be regaining his old form prior to the injury.
Miller says the extent of his elbow tear puts him in a sort of gray area in terms of whether to undergo surgery or to try to rehab.
“It’s not 100 percent torn where it’s automatic having to get surgery,” he said. “It’s just in that area where you don’t know what the future holds for it or whether it holds up or not. I’m deciding what I’m going to do.”
Even if he bypassed surgery and tried to rehab, he likely wouldn’t be back in game situations for another three or four months. And while some pitchers have survived for years despite UCL tears, including Masahiro Tanaka and Ervin Santana, there are also examples of pitchers who have tried to rehab only to eventually succumb to surgery.
“That’s the thing, you don’t want it (rehab) to not work out and end up missing a lot more time,” Miller said. “The biggest thing is I want to be back on the field. There’s no doubt about that. I want to do that as soon as possible. But to be able to do that, is that the smartest thing to do? That’s what we’re looking into.”
Because of the time he spent in the minors last season, Miller’s free agency was pushed back by a year. He has two more years of arbitration eligibility after this season, though it’s possible the Diamondbacks could view him as a non-tender candidate after this season.
Miller underwent an MRI and visited with Diamondbacks team physician Dr. Gary Waslewski on Monday. He flew to Los Angeles on Tuesday to see orthopedist Dr. Neal ElAttrache, and on Wednesday his MRI results were sent to another renowned orthopedist, Dr. James Andrews.
“It’s a tough decision,” Miller said. “It’s not going to be easy one way or the other. There’s a lot of uncertainty involved.
“You don’t really know. The biggest thing is to just make sure that we’re all on board with the same thing and make sure that we’re all comfortable and not making a mistake, basically, at the end of the day. That’s why this process has been taking so long.”
In a procedural move, Miller was transferred to the 60-day disabled list, opening a spot on the 40-man roster for left-hander T.J. McFarland, whose contract was purchased from Triple-A Reno on Thursday.