Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Chad Bradford Injured

Chad Bradford had surgery on his right (throwing) elbow last Thursday and likely will be lost to the Rays until at least May.

The submarine pitcher felt discomfort in the arm while going through his off season training program, which resulted in the surgery by Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Alabama where "loose bodies were removed" from the right elbow.

Bradford said he had hoped he'd be able to rest the arm and the discomfort would go away, but the more he threw, the stiffer it became and the more swelling he was forced to endure.

"I guess there is a sense of relief in that they found out what was wrong and they fixed it," Bradford said. "Now I just have to wait until rehab is over with and I'll be ready to go again."

The rehab is estimated to take three to four months.

The Rays acquired Bradford last season on August 7th from the Orioles. He made 21 appearances for the Rays and amounted a 1.42 ERA (18 of his outings were scoreless). Over all, last season with the Rays and O's, Bradford amounted 68 games where he posted a 2.12 ERA and a 4-3 record.

With Bradford missing the beginning of the season, the Rays already are opening up roster spots for Jason Hammel, Jeff Niemann, and/or Derek Rodriguez. With Bradford out, look for Rodriguez to be in serious consideration to start the season on the 25-man roster, and thus, the Rule 5 Draft pick will secure his spot with the Rays. Rodriguez will likely fill the void left by Bradford for those first 2 months of the season - since he can be just as efficient at inducing the ground balls.

For the Rays, it's a blow, but could be a blessing in disguise since they now have the added roster spots, and when Bradford returns in May, he will have a fresh arm, and can potentially work additional games and/or innings. Andrew Friedman, the Rays executive vice president of baseball operations had this to say, "focus on the positive, it's going to be a great shot in the arm for us when he is back. And to be able to add that quality of a reliever to the mix at that point."

Mr. Friedman is correct. So this should not be looked at as the Rays losing a great reliever, but as a positive in the long run. Too many good relievers to go around isn't a bad thing, and the Rays have just proved that there can never be a problem of "too many" when it comes to the pitching staff.

Let's hope Rodriguez truly can be as effective as I think he can be - and at least hold the fort down until Bradford's return.

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