Carter Capps will not need surgery on injured right elbow
By Aaron Somers
Given the rate at which players are undergoing Tommy John surgery this season, it’s only natural to fear the worst anytime a pitcher needs to be shut down when there is a problem related to their elbow in play. That’s exactly the conclusion that many fans of the Miami Marlins jumped to after Carter Capps was placed on the disabled list at the end of May with a sprained right elbow. Things aren’t quite as bad as they’d seem, however.
Team physicians didn’t feel that Capps would need to undergo surgery, but sent him to visit Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion regardless. According to Juan C. Rodriguez at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Andrews concurred with the initial diagnosis.
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Capps will be shut down entirely for about a month to rest and rehab. He will then begin a throwing program before the team determines when he could return to the bullpen.
One of Miami’s more productive bullpen options prior to the injury, Capps had only joined the team’s active roster in late May. He’d posted a 1.083 WHIP, 11.3 K/9, and just 2.3 BB/9 through the month of May and appeared to be settling into a setup role nicely in front of closer Steve Cishek. Capps was making a solid impression in his season with the Marlins after being acquired in December from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Logan Morrison.
Initially placed on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to May 26, Capps was moved to the 60-day DL in order to free up space on the team’s 40-man roster. The earliest he’d be able to be activated would be at the end of July, just before the trade deadline.