Twins pitcher Mike Pelfrey had surgery on his throwing elbow Tuesday to relieve pressure on his ulnar nerve.
According to the Pioneer Press, the recovery period is anywhere from 2-4 months, depending on the individual. He may be able to return prior to the end of the 2014 season.
Mike Pelfrey underwent surgery on his right elbow to clean up scar tissue that was putting pressure on his ulnar nerve. His UCL is fine.
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) June 10, 2014
The surgery was performed by Dr. James Andrews.
Hardball Talk reports the recovery timetable will keep Pelfrey out until at least early August, but that rehab could very well go into October.
The official term for Mike Pelfrey's surgery was right elbow ulnar nerve decompression surgery, per the Twins. Expected to miss 2-4 months.
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) June 10, 2014
Pelfrey has been on the disabled list since May 1 with a strained left groin. He had lost velocity on his fastball and wasn’t able to regain it during two rehab starts for Triple-A Rochester.
Normally his fastball reached into the mid 90’s, but during the rehab starts in Rochester, Pelfrey said that velocity was between 86-90.
The Star Tribune reports that Pelfrey felt tingling in his fingers going back to spring training. At the time, he didn’t think the tingling was a big deal and he did not notify the training staff.
But after starting the season 0-3 with a 7.99 ERA, Pelfrey was placed on the 15-day disabled list. An MRI didn’t show anything wrong with Pelfrey’s shoulder, where he had complained of discomfort, but showed the irritation in his elbow was the source of the tingling.
Pelfrey was re-signed in the offseason to a two-year $11 million contract.
Assuming this surgery ends his year, Pelfrey will have been paid $9.5M by Twins to post a 5.56 ERA over 34 starts. Owed $5.5M more in 2015.
— Ryan Boyer (@RyanPBoyer) June 10, 2014
