Santana Re-Tears Anterior Capsule
Johan Santana has re-injured his left anterior capsule, and may be lost for the season.
After what seemed like a major success story when Santana came back after shoulder surgery to repair the torn capsule last year, the tear has recurred, putting Johan back on the shelf.
“A second surgery is a strong possibility,” general manager Sandy Alderson said.
Santana, who turned 34 earlier this month, is in the final guaranteed season of a six-year, $137.5 million with the club.
Santana returned to the majors last season and had first-half success, including the first no-hitter in franchise history on June 1. However, Santana faded badly before landing on the disabled list in August.
The Mets attributed the swoon and shortened 2012 season to multiple factors: arduous rehab work the previous winter that left him worn down, an ankle injury caused when Reed Johnson stepped on Santana’s ankle during a bang-bang play while the southpaw covered first base, and a lower-back injury.
We could all play the role of South Park’s Captain Hindsight here and say Santana should not have been allowed to complete his 134-pitch no-hitter last year. We all would have made the same decision Terry Collins did, and besides, we don’t yet know for sure if that’s what did him in. As Joe Janish has stated multiple times in the past, Johan has always had faulty mechanics, and more shoulder trouble was inevitable.
No matter what the cause, this is bad news for the Mets. If you’re looking for a silver lining, however, this opens the door for Zack Wheeler, much as the second departure of Tom Seaver opened the door for Dwight Gooden in 1984. However Wheeler shouldn’t be called up until at least May – and maybe June, for sound business reasons.
“There is $31 million left on Santana’s contract and Alderson said the deal is not insured, which is surprisingly common.”
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/eye-on-baseball/21965886/johan-santana-has-a-probable-retear-of-left-shoulder-capsule
Only thing I find highly amusing is that the WBC is apparently picking up the tab on any player who was injured during the tournament.
Makes ya wonder if this sucker would have been paid out, provided he went to play for Venezuela – to have it happen there.
(Not saying I was an advocate for him to play in it, just that it’s interesting to know that guys like Teixeira are being covered under that umbrella….while the Yanks don’t have the obligation to pay him during his absence. Never knew that before a week ago.)
Even with insurance, Johan’s been on track to have a surgery almost every season for the last handful….so I’m not even sure what would have been written into the coverage.
Only thing this means to me is a definitively uneventful trade deadline…….as I expected maybe 60 innings from him this year as a Met, anyway.
So long, Johan.
Of course, with the Mets punting 2013, it really doesn’t make much of a difference what they do with Wheeler — except maybe in terms of ticket sales. But the theory makes a lot of sense for teams that choose to compete.
Definitely an intriguing point. It suppose it depends on the readiness of the given player. I do believe that the Mets still think Wheeler has some work to do on command, a given his 4+ BB/9 last year in Buffalo, it is hard to argue. That, combined with Joe’s point regarding the punting on 2013, make it kind of moot anyhow. Word was that Chris Young would be signed within a day of opting out. I wonder if he was waiting for the Santana diagnosis. Imagine if he returns and incurs the same injury again? Would any free agent pitcher dare tempt fate by signing with the Mets?
has done the math on ticket revenue vs arbitration cost. Catchers flame out around 32, d’Arnaud is already 24, how much time do they want to waste?
Agreed, but didn’t the Palm Beach Community College alum hire an ivy league alum, and pay him $3 mil per year, who hired another ivy league alum for like $1 mil an year, handle that calculation?