Right-handed pitcher Brandon Cumpton had Tommy John surgery today, performed by Dr. James Andrews. The news isn’t unexpected, since it was announced last week that Cumpton would visit Andrews after experiencing pain in his elbow. In most cases, that results in surgery.
This means that Cumpton will be out for at least a year, and probably won’t be ready to start the 2016 season on Opening Day, based on how conservative the Pirates have been in bringing back pitchers from the injury. To give some perspective on a potential timeline, Clay Holmes had surgery last year on March 19th. He is currently throwing live BPs, and will get into sim games soon. However, he won’t be ready to start the regular season, and will need some time in extended Spring Training.
The early guess from Cumpton is that he will be out at least until the end of April 2016. He does have an option remaining. The Pirates could stash him on the 60-day DL this year, which would preserve the option and allow him to be used as depth next year out of Triple-A. The downside to this is that he’d burn a year of service time, but that’s a better alternative than having no options next year and returning from major surgery.
