MLB PLAYER NEWS

Mets RHP Wheeler opts for Tommy John surgery

The Sports Xchange

March 20, 2015 at 12:24 pm.

 

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

New York Mets right-hander Zack Wheeler has officially opted for Tommy John surgery.

Wheeler, after meeting with doctors earlier in the week, said Friday he will undergo the procedure next week and expects to be out through the first two months of the 2016 season.

The 24-year-old Wheeler underwent an MRI last Saturday in Port St. Lucie, Fla., which was also reviewed by team doctor David Altchek. Wheeler visited Altchek in New York on Wednesday for a consultation, then met with renowned orthopedist Dr. James Andrews the following day.

Wheeler said he elected to have Altchek perform the surgery next Tuesday or Wednesday rather than Andrews because of Altchek’s success rate with Mets pitchers.

“They’re going to go in and basically clean up everything,” Wheeler said Friday. “So, I’m going to have a new elbow when I come out.”

Wheeler estimated a 14-month rehab period.

“Of course I’m nervous about it, but you’ve got to do it and have that mindset when you’re coming back that you’re going to be 100 percent and better than you were before,” said Wheeler, who acknowledged he pitched with significant pain at points last season said. “I knew it probably eventually was going to happen. You aren’t meant to throw overhand and throw hard.

“Honestly, I’ve had pain in that spot in my elbow since I got drafted — since before I got drafted. It just happened to really flare up and be a little more painful last year, but not enough to where I was actually like, ‘Oh my gosh.'”

The one area in which the Mets are fortified with depth is starting pitching, so there will be no shortage of candidates to replace Wheeler.

Right-hander Dillon Gee, who was being prepped for bullpen duty because he had been squeezed out of the rotation following the return of right-hander Matt Harvey from his own Tommy John surgery, is expected to resume starting. In addition, a pair of promising prospects — right-hander Noah Syndergaard and left-hander Steven Matz — will likely be ready for promotions by midseason.

Still, the loss of Wheeler — who showed signs of emerging as an ace-caliber pitcher during the second half of last season — is a big psychological blow for a team that expected to contend for a playoff berth behind the hard-throwing right-handed trio of Wheeler, Harvey and reigning National League Rookie of the Year Jacob deGrom.

The Mets came under immediate criticism for not only initially underplaying Wheeler’s injury but for apparently letting Wheeler pitch through pain last season.

Wheeler was torched in his lone Grapefruit League start March 9, when he gave up six runs in 1 2/3 innings against the Miami Marlins. He was scheduled to pitch again last Saturday, but the Mets announced the day before — Friday the 13th — that he had been scratched due to a tender elbow and a blister on his right middle finger.

General manager Sandy Alderson has admitted that Wheeler had elbow issues last season, when he threw at least 100 pitches 24 times in 32 starts and exceeded 100 pitches in 15 of his final 16 starts. He threw 99 pitches in his other start.

Alderson also said Wheeler underwent a pair of MRIs over the winter, but that the team wasn’t worried about him and that he wouldn’t be subjected to another test.

Wheeler went 11-11 with a 3.54 ERA last season. Over the last two seasons, he led the Mets in strikeouts (271), ranked second in wins (18) and third in innings pitched (285 1/3).