New York Yankees: Joba Chamberlain Needs Tommy John Surgery, out for Season
June 9, 2011 · Doug Rush · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
Yesterday it was reported that Joba Chamberlain would be put on the disabled list with what was originally a strained muscle in his right elbow.
It’s now gone from bad to worse with the injury.
According to George King of the New York Post, Chamberlain now has a torn ligament in his throwing arm which will likely require Tommy John Surgery and end his 2011 season.
Chamberlain was 2-0 with a 2.83 ERA in 2011 for the Yankees and was pitching extremely well.
When Rafael Soriano was put on the DL last month, Joba re-assumed the setup role from him and saw his ERA go from a 4.15 all the way down to 2.83.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi had said that David Robertson would take over Chamberlain’s role for the setup spot in front of Mariano Rivera.
With Chamberlain now on the shelf for the season, this only amplifies the need for the Yankees to make a deal or several over the next month for relief help.
Damaso Marte is out for most, if not all of this season.
Pedro Feliciano is likely out for the season if he can’t rehab his arm.
Rafael Soriano is still ways away from returning.
And now throw in Chamberlain as well.
As if the Red Sox beating the Yankees five straight in Yankee Stadium and in seven of their first eight games wasn’t bad enough, losing important players in the middle of the season makes it even worse.
Before the season, everyone viewed the Yankees bullpen as possibly one of the best in baseball.
Now, they have a lot of work to do to repair and reshape this depleted thing.
Brian Cashman, you have a lot of work to do.
I don’t know if the answer is calling up guys like Andrew Brackman, Manny Banuelos or Dellin Betances, the three top-level pitching prospects that have been dubbed as “The Killer B’s.”
It worked once when the Yankees called up Chamberlain in 2007 and he was electric down the stretch.
Maybe calling them up is not the answer.
Maybe the Yankees will look to guys such as Heath Bell or Francisco Rodriguez as a short-term solution to the bullpen to help Rivera and Robertson, but only if the price is right.
Right now, sitting in second place in the American League East behind the red-hot Red Sox, things aren’t looking good for the Yankees.
The bullpen has now become a serious issue the Yankees must address immediately.
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