April 13, 2013; Boston, MA USA; Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Joel Hanrahan (52) walks to the dugout after being relieved during the ninth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Whenever you hear the non-specific but nevertheless ominous diagnosis of “forearm tightness” many times the event that follows is Tommy John surgery. That’s what Red Sox closer Joel Hanrahan will find out in Birmingham Alabama when the visits doctor James Andrews and finds out if he has damaged his ulnar collateral ligament.
The three scenarios go down like this:
1. Season-ending Tommy John surgery
2. Surgery of another type that will keep him out of the lineup for an as yet unspecified amount of time
3. No surgery but a long stint on the DL and rehab that would allow him back in action no sooner than around the All-Star break.
With Hanrahan out for an extended period of time Boston at least can start making definitive moves. “Once we got the initial MRI, it seemed [the 60-day DL] was a possibility,” Sox manager John Farrell told WEEI’s Alex Speier. “So not knowing the extent or total number of days, we felt it was still going to require some recovery time and then when you factor in the buildup back from that, we felt this was going to be a couple of months total at a minimum.”
Boston called up Jose De La Torre from Pawtucket while Alex Webster, who was hammered in his first start on Wednesday night, was optioned to Pawtucket.
Personally, if it weren’t for Andrew Bailey‘s recent injury (due to come off the DL on Tuesday), I wouldn’t be too shook up about Hanrahan’s injury. He had a lousy spring and it only got worse during the regular season. At the time of his injury, Hanrahan was completely ineffective, going 0-1 with 4 saves, two blown saves and a 9.82 ERA in nine appearances.
How do you think Joel Hanrahan’s trip to the DL will impact the Red Sox?