Oakland Athletics: Chris Bassitt To Miss Rest of Season
On Thursday, the Oakland Athletics announced that starter Chris Bassitt will undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery.
Chris Bassitt seemed poised to have a breakout season in 2016, after getting off to a solid start in Spring Training. Instead, he went 0-2 with a 7.11 ERA in his first five starts of the season for the Oakland Athletics.
On April 28, Bassitt allowed seven runs in just 3.2 innings against the Detroit Tigers, before being pulled from the game. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list, and diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament.
A’s fans should be familiar with torn UCLs and Tommy John surgery. In April, Felix Doubront underwent the procedure for the same injury. During the 2014 season, five other pitchers in the A’s system also had Tommy John surgery, including Jarrod Parker, A.J. Griffin and Raul Alcantara.
More from Oakland A's News
- Luis Barrera heading to familiar foe in Los Angeles Angels
- San Francisco Giants showing Oakland A’s offseason could be worse
- Lucas Luetge what Oakland A’s need in bullpen
- Oakland A’s bring Deolis Guerra back on minor league deal
- How much will Oakland A’s improvements matter in 2023?
According to the A’s press release, Bassitt will undergo surgery on Friday at Beacon Orthopedics in Cincinnati. Dr. Timothy Kremchek will perform the procedure. Dr. Kremchek performed Doubront’s surgery earlier this season.
The recovery time for Tommy John surgery ranges from a year to 18 months, so Bassitt will absolutely miss the remainder of the season, as well as the start to 2017. The Oakland Athletics are hardly strangers to Tommy John complications, given the complex injury histories of pitchers like Parker and Griffin, but hopefully Bassitt’s recovery will be a smooth process.
The loss of one of their best young arms is a hit to the A’s rotation, but the debut of Sean Manaea and resurgence of Jesse Hahn should help to cushion the blow. In addition to Hahn and Manaea, right-hander Henderson Alvarez is making his way back from shoulder surgery, and should be able to jump into the rotation soon. Alvarez has already made three rehab starts, and will throw 75 pitches or five innings in his next outing.
In the minors, left-hander Eric Surkamp is always an option as well, although he did not perform as well as the A’s had hoped after making the team out of Spring Training.
Next: Time to Worry About Sonny Gary?
Although pitching depth is always something for teams to worry about, the biggest concern for the Athletics should be making sure that Bassitt fully recovers before he returns. The right-hander is under team control through 2022, and will not be arbitration eligible until 2019, so there is plenty of time for him to leave his mark on Oakland.