Closing time for Joe Nathan?
By Tim Haberin
The Detroit Tigers announced that relief pitcher Joe Nathan has torn his UCL and flexor pronator and will undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery. It’s a tough pill to swallow for the 40-year-old Nathan, who is no stranger to elbow injuries. At this late stage of his career, however, it’s also worth wondering if this might signal an end to his time on the mound.
Things were certainly not looking good when Nathan left a minor league rehab appearance early on Wednesday, clutching his elbow. He said he felt it pop, along with a painful sensation that he imagined would accompany a break: “It feels like I broke my arm,” he said. “I never have broken my arm, but I would assume this is what it feels like … Obviously, it was enough for me to take myself out of a game. And anytime somebody walks off the mound is never a good thing.”
Nathan’s foreboding would turn out to be warranted, as an MRI back in Detroit revealed the tears in the ulnar collateral ligament and flexor pronator of his right elbow. He suffered the same injury prior to the 2010 season. Then with the Minnesota Twins, Nathan missed the entire campaign due to Tommy John surgery, making this the second time he will go under the knife for that procedure.
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In today’s game, it can be quite difficult for a closer to remain relevant over a long period of time. For every Mariano Rivera or Trevor Hoffman, you also have an Eric Gagne or Heath Bell. Joe Nathan has convincingly carved out a place in the former category during his 15 years in the big leagues. His 377 career saves are the seventh-most all-time and make him the active leader. He also boasts an imposing lifetime 2.89 ERA and 1.12 WHIP.
After beginning his Major League career with the Giants, Nathan did not try his hand at closing full-time until he was traded to Minnesota prior to 2004. You could say he took to the role rather well. In seven years with the Twins, Nathan racked up 260 saves. He posted a 2.16 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and stellar 10.9 K/9 rate in that span as well. He made the All-Star team during four of those seasons and earned a career-high 47 saves in 2009. After a two-year stop in Texas in which he collected 80 more saves in a Rangers uniform, Nathan signed a two-year deal with the Tigers ahead of the 2014 season.
Despite Nathan’s tremendous track record, it’s hard to feel especially confident about his chances of making it back on the field. Even before this injury he was struggling to live up to his usual effectiveness standards in Detroit. Though he saved 35 games last year, he also put up a 4.81 ERA, allowing 60 hits in 58 innings. It was his weakest season since 2011, when he was still working his way back from, you guessed it, his first Tommy John surgery.
Requiring that procedure a second time is not something any pitcher wants to go through, so it would be another long road back for Nathan, and this time five years older. It’s a tough blow for the Tigers, who were hoping to see their closer rebound this season. Compared to their fearsome offense and solid starting rotation, Detroit’s bullpen is remarkably thin. A revitalized Joe Nathan could have gone a long way toward steadying that group.
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The Tigers will now ponder whether they should have thrown some money at David Robertson or Andrew Miller this past winter. Joakim Soria holds the closing reins for now and while he’s done an admirable job thus far in 2015, he has tended toward inconsistency throughout his career. While Detroit certainly has enough overall firepower to compete for its division and then some, it should be interesting to see how much it is hampered by its bullpen woes.
Meanwhile, Joe Nathan has some serious challenges and decisions ahead of him. He says he is “110 percent” committed to returning to the mound. Even if he rehabs successfully, he won’t be ready for next year’s Spring Training, meaning he will likely have to settle for a “show me” minor league deal. But for the time being, it appears Nathan will do everything in his power to ensure his already impressive big league career has at least one more chapter.