If you can call elbow flexor tendon surgery a relief, you are a strange bird. But Braves lefthander Tom Glavine is considering himself lucky that he only needs surgery to repair his pitching elbow’s partially torn flexor tendon and not ligament transplant surgery aka Tommy John Surgery. Glavine received the results from the MRI and a diagnosis from Dr. James Andrews Wednesday that said the potentially career ending ligament transplant surgery was not needed. Glavine had hinted before receiving the results that should the pitcher need Tommy John surgery, he would end his career instead of undergoing the surgery and suffering through the 12-16 month rehab process. The surgery as is currently scheduled should only require a rehab stint of 4-5 months and Glavine, if he decides to come back next year and the Braves want him back, could put the starter back in time for the start of the season.
Glavine is 42 and has been on the DL now 3 times, all this season, his second stint with the Braves. He resigned with Atlanta on a one year/$8M deal before the season, but has only amassed a 2-4 record. The good news is that Glavine will get to choose whether or not to continue his career and not have his Hall of Fame career ended by injury. He has also told reporters that he would only come back next season to play for Atlanta. Now the front office has some decisions to make: begin to rebuild or take the payroll and resign Glavine and the also injured John Smoltz and make one last run in the last year of manager Bobby Cox’s contract.
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