Fresh off the return of Matt Harvey from Tommy John surgery, it appears as though another Mets pitcher has gone done. Reports have surfaced that Zach Wheeler has tore his ulnar collateral ligament. The star pitcher will likely miss the entire 2015 season and the beginning of 2016 as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.
Zack Wheeler has a torn UCL in his right elbow. Tommy John surgery is almost certainly inevitable. #Mets
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) March 16, 2015
Wheeler complained of tenderness in his throwing arm after a rough outing in a Grapefruit League game and an MRI revealed the news. The injury is a devastating blow to the organization, who had been previously shopping starter Dillon Gee.
“It’s always a precaution,” manager Terry Collins told reporters Saturday. “You can go in there right now and if someone’s back is sore they’re going to get (an MRI) tomorrow.”
“There are a lot of games he pitched with his elbow bothering him,” Collins said. “So we know it’s been there. We know he’s had this issue before. That’s why I’m very glad he spoke up now, because we’ve got enough time to back him up a little bit and still get him to where he needs to be.”
There had been concern about Wheeler for some time, as he underwent two MRIs in the off-season.
Today the news came down that the MRI revealed a torn UCL. According to a team statement, “Wheeler will travel to New York today to confirm the diagnosis and discuss next steps with Dr. David Altchek at HSS.”
A talented young arm for the Mets, Wheeler, 24, went 11-11 with a 3.54 ERA in 32 starts for the Mets last season, with 187 strikeouts in 185 1/3 innings. he finished the second half of last season with a 3.04 ERA and was expected to help carry a rebuilding Mets team into playoff contention in 2015.
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