Under The Knife 5/21/24
Hot Hounds
Apologies for skipping Monday without warning — we’ll go Tuesday/Thursday this week with the race weekend — but the UIndy Greyhounds made it back to the Super Regionals again behind some great pitching and big hits. Being out at the ballpark and seeing kids that work so hard succeed is always great and a reminder that there’s great baseball everywhere. Fans like us should watch more low level games, if for no other reason than it reminds you how great those players we watch every day are. Those routine plays aren’t, those diving stops most don’t get to, those sizzling throws from across the diamond aren’t possible for most, and we do take it for granted at times. There’s a difference between watching a pitcher who can throw 95 and one that can throw 75, but both can be successful at their level.
But there’s plenty of injuries so let’s get to them:
GARRETT WHITLOCK, SP BOS (sprained elbow)
Late word that Garrett Whitlock is heading to see Dr. Jeff Dugas in Birmingham. Dugas did his previous Tommy John in 2019. The five year mark, almost exactly, is like the old joke about things breaking on a car the day after the warranty lapses. Dugas has done a lot of work on InternalBrace and did one on Lucas Giolito earlier this season. Whitlock’s revision could go either way, but either costs him a year or more in rehab. I’ll have more on this once I get more details.
JUNG HOO LEE, OF SFG (dislocated shoulder/torn labrum)
It isn’t the worst case for Jung Hoo Lee and the Giants, but it’s not far off. Lee has a severely torn labrum which will require surgery, ending his 2024 season that showed some promise. The knock against the odd portion of the right-center wall in the Giants home park ended up being just enough of the bad stuff to close out his campaign.
Labrum surgery isn’t good, but there has been a lot of progress, largely because of the work of Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who is likely to perform Lee’s surgery after his consult with him. Lee isn’t a pitcher so the return isn’t as fine and while he’s got a good arm as an outfielder, the worst case scenario is that he’d become a left fielder at home and perhaps a DH. There’s very few cases where he wouldn’t be able to return to his normal station, though I’m sure third base coaches will note things.
The plus here is that Lee does have a strong chance to come back. Labrum surgery has made leaps in just the last few years and at worst, Lee will lose some plus on his arm rather than his career as might have been the case a decade ago. It doesn’t help the Giants in the now, but the 2025 Giants might end up a vastly different team in a lot of ways. If Lee can come back and be a positive for that team, he’s still a very solid signing and a base for the team to move forward despite the injury.
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