GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- After spending all of 2013 rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and getting back to the majors last season, Josh Tomlin was hoping that he could get through this season injury free. Unfortunately, that never quite materialized.
The right-hander experienced discomfort in his right shoulder during the offseason, and it progressively got worse during spring training. On Friday, the Indians announced that Tomlin will undergo an arthroscopic debridement of the Acromioclavicular Joint on Wednesday at the Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Mark Schickendantz will perform the surgery, and there is a 12-16 week timetable to return.
"What's tough is you spend all of '13 rehabbing your elbow (after surgery in '12). You see the light at the end of the tunnel in '14, and you hear how the second year is the best and now this happens," Tomlin said. "I don't get to see the second year to start out at least but hopefully I can get back and help them win."
Tomlin, who earlier in camp was in the mix for the final spot in the rotation, was optioned to Triple-A Columbus earlier in the week and felt further discomfort after a minor-league start on Monday. He started the Cactus League opener on March 2 against the Reds but was shut down for nearly a week after that due to shoulder inflammation.
A recent MRI showed chronic inflammation in the joint, which wasn't going to abate with rest or more cortisone shots. In three Cactus League games, with two being starts, Tomlin allowed four earned runs in eight innings with seven strikeouts and two walks.
Tomlin's injury also impacts the Indians' depth. Tomlin and Salazar were likely to be the first two pitchers on-call in case of an injury. Columbus' rotation is likely to be Salazar, Bruce Chen, Shaun Marcum, Michael Roth and Nick Maronde.
Besides starting, Tomlin also could have been used out of the bullpen. He made nine relief appearances during the second half last season. In 25 appearances (16 starts), Tomlin was 6-9 with a 4.75 ERA. His best game was June 28 at Seattle when he tossed the Tribe's first one-hitter since 2003. Tomlin had no walks in that game and struck out a career-high 11.
After having surgery, Tomlin will spend two weeks in Cleveland to start the rehab process before returning to Arizona. Tomlin's option is likely to be rescinded which means he would open the season on the Indians' disabled list.
