Carl Pavano Will Not Pitch This Season

Carl Pavano spent the 2012 season with Minnesota and has yet to throw in 2013 due to an offseason injury. Now it seems he’ll miss the entire season. (Image Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports)

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but Carl Pavano will not pitch at all this season as he continues to recover from an offseason injury. In late January the seemingly injury-prone veteran right-hander was shoveling snow at his Vermont home, fell, and wound up needing to undergo surgery to remove his spleen. He also suffered from a collapsed lung and significant blood loss from the injury which could have been life-threatening if he wasn’t brought to the hospital as quickly as he was.

At the time of the accident it was initially believed that he’d be out roughly six to eight weeks. To date he’s been unable to begin working out and doesn’t appear to be getting close. Dave Pepe, Pavano’s agent, notified Jon Heyman of CBS Sports on Thursday that Pavano would not attempt to pitch this season, but Pavano’s not ready to walk away from the game just yet:

"Carl will not be physically able to play this year as he recovers from his spleen removal and the complications that followed. His hope is that he can give it a try next year."

Pavano’s injury occurred before he could sign a deal to join a team for the 2013 season. The Colorado Rockies and New York Mets were the two teams linked to him most prior to the incident, but both teams quickly moved in other directions once his injury became public.

The 37 year old has played for the Minnesota Twins, Florida Marlins, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, and Montreal Expos over the course of his career. He’d post a 108-107 record, 4.39 ERA, and 1.340 WHIP over 1,788.2 IP. Pavano’s missed a significant amount of time over the course of his career due to a variety of injuries.