Baldelli faces Tommy John surgery

ST. PETERSBURG -- Rocco Baldelli has torn the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and will have Tommy John surgery next week.
"Obviously, it's disappointing," Baldelli said. "I don't have to say that. That's obvious. But I'm not going to take any time and feel bad for myself. I'm just going to rehab this injury and get better. My leg is healing and has been feeling great. Everything has been working out well with that. That's it. Just a pretty big setback."

The recovery time for a position player to come back from the surgery -- which has evolved light years from when it was first performed on its namesake -- is eight to nine months.

"If everything goes well, he should be ready for Spring Training," said Rays general manager Chuck LaMar.

Baldelli said he injured the elbow June 7.

"I knew I did something to it," Baldelli said. "But when you play every day, you have injuries and you work your way through them even though they hurt. So I played in a couple of extended games, but then I realized it wasn't getting any better and it was really, really bothering me, so I got it checked out."

Baldelli finally got his elbow examined before Tuesday's game.

The initial diagnosis by Dr. Koco Eaton, the team's orthopedic doctor, was a ligament tear. That diagnosis was confirmed in Birmingham on Wednesday by Dr. James Andrews.

"His injury has been a huge blow to the organization all year," LaMar said. "He sort of sets the tone for this organization, he's not a complainer, he's not a whiner, he's a winner. All the fans of Tampa Bay know that and will get to see that in the future. It's a shame for him and for us that he misses the year. But when healthy, he's going to be just an outstanding baseball player. We wish him the best. It's been a tough year for him."

Baldelli had been performing well in his comeback, playing in extended Spring Training games in advance of moving on to Double-A Montgomery. The plan for his return had him spending a brief period in Montgomery before moving on to Triple-A Durham, then taking three days off during the break for the All-Star Game before being activated and joining the Rays as their center fielder July 14.

Baldelli had surgery to repair the ACL in his left knee in Colorado on Nov.5 after injuring his knee playing in the front yard of his family's Rhode Island home.

"It's tough," Baldelli said. "Just going through that ACL rehab, I had, obviously, days when I showed up that I just didn't want to be there. I showed up every day for about seven months. You just get tired of doing the same thing, the same boring stuff every day. I'm sure I'm going to get that again, but you know what? This is my job and this is what I have to do."

Source: http://tampabay.devilrays.mlb.com