Nathan to miss season with elbow injury
March 21, 2010
FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP)—Minnesota Twins closer Joe Nathan(notes) will miss the 2010season because of a right elbow injury that will require surgery.
Nathan, who leads the major leagues with 246 saves since 2004, made thedecision after playing catch with Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson for 10minutes on Sunday.
“It didn’t go like we hoped,” Nathan said. “We knew it was a long shot,but I think this will clear my head. There definitely was no gray area. It wasdefinitely on the dark side. We know now that we’re going to need to go in andhave some surgery done and get this thing taken care of.”
Nathan hopes to have Tommy John surgery within two weeks to repair the tornulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. He was injured on March 6 during a20-pitch outing in a spring training game against the Boston Red Sox.
The 35-year-old right-hander signed a $47 million contract two years agothat guarantees him $11.25 million both this season and next. The Twins have a$12.5 million option for 2012, with a $2 million buyout.
Nathan has set his sights on returning at the start of the 2011 season.
“I’m very confident,” he said. “I’ve talked to the doctors. Thepercentages of coming back are very good. You never want to say 100 percent, butit’s pretty close to being 100 percent of the time.”
Nathan went 2-2 with a 2.10 ERA and a career-best 47 saves last season.
The in-house relievers likely to replace Nathan include Jon Rauch(notes), who has26 big league saves, the most of any Twins pitcher besides Nathan. Otherpossible candidates are Matt Guerrier(notes), Jesse Crain(notes), Jose Mijares(notes) and Pat Neshek(notes).
Since hurting the elbow two weeks ago, Nathan had tried strengthening themuscles around the joint, hoping to pitch through the injury. But the throwingsession confirmed his worst-case scenario.
“It started out well,” Nathan said. “Everything felt good at thebeginning. I didn’t want to go super intense but enough to where it was alongthe lines of playing a normal game of catch.
“I got out to about 60 or 70 feet and started feeling a little bit ofstiffness. I wasn’t sure if it was from the forearm or from the elbow. I justkept throwing, and it became clear that it was an injured elbow. It was gettingharder and harder. It became clear that it didn’t feel good. I don’t have anumber on what I threw, but it wasn’t very long. It was probably only a fewminutes of playing catch when I started feeling stiff.”
Nathan said he would rehabilitate from the surgery in Minnesota.
“I think it will help me get through this thing and at least be a part ofthe team a little bit,” he said. “I’m very comfortable in Minnesota. We have ahouse there, and my family would like it. Obviously, I would like to help outwhoever is thrown into that role.”
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