Surgery Possible for Carl Crawford of Red Sox
Carl Crawfordhas missed the entire 2012 season so far, but he has been working his way back. He’s made
a few rehab starts, but recently suffered an unrelated set-back when he strained his groin. Crawford has been on the disabled list because of wrist surgery and recovery. Yet, Crawford says he feels he will eventually also need elbow surgery.
According to Maureen Mullen of Comcast Sports Net, Crawford thinks he will eventually need Tommy John surgery on the elbow, but as it stands now, he does not plan to have the surgery until the elbow goes out.
"But he did acknowledge there is a possibility he will need surgery “at some point” on his left elbow which has kept on the disabled list since the start of the season.“Probably at some point, because it’s one of those deals. It is what it is,” Crawford said. “So probably at some point it’s going to go out on me.”"
Crawford says the elbow doesn’t keep him from throwing in game action or from swinging the bat, so he’s not concerned about it, but at some point he acknowledges that surgery will be necessary. Fortunately, the recovery time from Tommy John surgery for a position player is much shorter than that of a pitcher.
After the 2010 season, Crawford signed with the Boston Red Sox as a free agent. He signed a 7-year, $142 million deal. Unfortunately, he has yet to live up to the expectations the Red Sox and the rest of the world have for him. While with the Rays, Crawford was spectacular, but he struggled in his first year with Boston.
In 2011, Crawford hit just .255/.289/.405 with 11 home runs. He played in just 130 games, his lowest total since 2008. In his time with the Rays, Crawford was much better. In nine years with Tampa Bay, Crawford hit .296/.337/.444 with 104 home runs. He was an All-Star four times with Tampa.
When Crawford does make his return to the Red Sox lineup, no one knows what to expect. He struggled last year, and this year he will be returning from wrist surgery. Can he actually help the Red Sox, or should go ahead and have the Tommy John surgery and come back healthy next year? It seems that Crawford will not have the surgery until he absolutely has to, but if he comes back and is not helping the team, he should reconsider.
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