San Diego Padres: Josh Johnson to have Tommy John surgery

July 29, 2012; Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

According to MLB.com’s Corey Brock, San Diego Padres pitcher Josh Johnson will have Tommy John Surgery on Thursday. Reports indicated that the exam by orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews showed damage to the ulnar collateral ligament in Johnson’s right elbow. Like many other pitchers in baseball, Johnson has a history with Andrews. Dr. Andrews did the cleanup surgery last October on Johnson’s right elbow to remove bone spurs. To go back further, in 2007 Andrews performed Tommy John surgery on Johnson when he was a pitcher with the then Florida Marlins.

Back in November, Johnson signed a one-year deal for $8 million with the San Diego Padres. When signing the deal, not only were the Padres hopeful for some production from him in the rotation, but Johnson was also hoping to revamp his career. San Diego holds a team option on the condition that Johnson is unable to make seven starts for the Padres. They could bring him back for just $4 Million next season but it’s unclear at this point which direction the team is leaning.

The news is disappointing since Johnson was having a good season thus far, posting a 3.38 ERA in his four starts. The trouble all started  when he woke up with a swollen forearm after an outing in mid-March. He had an MRI thereafter noticing the pain and it confirmed the strain in his right forearm.

Tommy John surgery has become very popular in today’s game, with several other names joining Johnson that have already had the surgery this season: Atlanta Braves P Kris Medlen, Atlanta Braves P Brandon Beachy, Tampa Bay Rays P Matt Moore, Oakland Athletics P Jarrod Parker, Arizona Diamondbacks P Patrick Corbin and San Diego teammate Cory Luebke, among others. Hopefully all of these pitchers can bounce back from this surgery and have the opportunity to produce for the 2015 season for their respected ball clubs.