Yu Darvish likely to have Tommy John surgery

Texas Rangers GM Jon Daniels says right-hander Yu Darvish is likely to undergo Tommy John surgery sooner rather than later.

Barring that rumored third opinion or anything else, it appears that the Rangers Yu Darvish is headed for Tommy John surgery. It’s definitely the worst news possible, but by now everyone’s had some time to prepare for it. According to a story by USA Today, GM Jon Daniels said the procedure is tentatively scheduled for next week.

"“Things are likely headed down the path for surgery,” Rangers GM Jon Daniels said Wednesday, a day after New York-based orthopedist David Altchek examined Darvish. “Surgery was the path that he recommended.” (via USA Today)"

The Rangers are now planning to send the MRI to orthopedist James Andrews this week and a decision should be finalized by this weekend. Having the surgery next week would put Darvish on track for a mid-2016 return.

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Darvish went back to Rangers camp after meeting with Altcheck in New York on Tuesday. He was reportedly upbeat and good spirits, participating in drills left-handed. Darvish was shut down late last year with elbow issues, however, he passed an MRI in November and the Rangers obviously expected him to be healthy this season. In the first few weeks of camp, he looked exactly that, impressing with his fastball.

However, his debut last Thursday was a different story. He threw 12 pitches and then had to come out of the game with triceps soreness. At that point, the Rangers said they were certain it was nothing serious and pulling him from the game was merely a precaution.

By Saturday morning, the bad news was in and the Rangers were forced to contemplate 2015 without Darvish. The MLB was forced to contemplate the season without one of the best pitchers in the game.

Daniels said that Darvish has mentally processed the fact that he has to have surgery and is in for a long recovery time. The question is, have Rangers fans mentally processed the fact that this could be a long season without Darvish.

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