Tommy John surgery recommended for Marlins pitcher Aaron Crow
JUPITER, Fla. -- Miami Marlins right-handed reliever Aaron Crow will "most likely" have Tommy John surgery to repair a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament.
Crow, who spoke with reporters on Wednesday morning before the club's final Grapefruit League game, had an MRI on Tuesday. The doctor recommended Tommy John surgery.
"Still trying to figure that out and then get a second opinion and go," Crow said. "If it’s the same thing, probably get surgery and just wait for that."
The 28-year-old righty said he felt fine during his last outing on Saturday against the Houston Astros, "but I came in the next day and it was really sore and it was painful to throw."
In that scoreless appearance, he hit a batter, walked another, struck one out and gave up a hit. Of his 11 pitches, six went for strikes.
Crow, who has never had surgery, said "everything before that was pretty much normal, normal soreness and stuff" until the next day.
Over seven relief outings this spring, Crow went 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA in eight innings, allowing two runs on six hits with four walks and nine strikeouts.
The Marlins acquired Crow from the Kansas City Royals this past offseason for minor leaguers Brian Flynn and Reid Redman. He is scheduled to make $1.97 million in 2015 and set to become a free agent at the end of the 2016 season. Tommy John surgery takes anywhere from 12 to 18 months of recovery time.
Since making his debut in 2011, Crow is 20-11 with a 3.43 ERA in 254 appearances. He made the American League All-Star team as a rookie. With Crow headed to the disabled list, that opens a bullpen spot -- likely for righty Sam Dyson.
You can follow Christina De Nicola on Twitter @CDeNicola13 or email her at cdenicola13@gmail.com.
