Cardinals’ Jordan Schafer to Undergo Elbow Surgery, Out for Season
The St. Louis Cardinals’ Jordan Schafer experiment has officially ended.
Thirty-year-old Jordan Schafer has had an injury-ridden and mediocre career over the past eight years, only six of which he played at the major league level. Still, the St. Louis Cardinals decided to give him a chance as a non-roster invitee to spring training.
He’s spent two stints with the Atlanta Braves, and one each with the Houston Astros and the Minnesota Twins. He last played in the majors in 2015 with the Twins, but played in just 27 games.
Couple the injuries with a .228 career batting average, and things weren’t looking up for Schafer as he spent last season in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ minor league system.
So he devised a new plan in an attempt to keep his career in baseball alive.
He decided he was going to attempt to both pitch and play in the outfield at the major league level, figuring if he could do that then he might land a spot on a team as a dual threat.
Schafer was picked up by the St. Louis Cardinals as a non-roster invitee to spring training to see if he could, in fact, make the big league club as both a lefty specialist out of the bullpen and a left-handed bat in the outfield.
Unfortunately for Schafer, who was actually making progress and turning heads at the Cardinals’ camp, his experiment has been officially derailed.
He began feeling irritation in his left forearm over the past week and it has turned out to be much more serious than initially imagined.
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After an MRI on Monday, a ligament tear was found in Schafer’s left elbow.
He will now have to undergo surgery that will render him out for the season.
The severity of the tear is still unknown but Schafer’s surgery has already been scheduled for Friday and will be performed by Dr. George Paletta.
During the procedure Dr. Paletta will have to determine if the tear is significant enough to warrant Tommy John surgery or if a “primary repair” could be an option.
A primary repair would take significantly less time to heal than the 12-18 months that usually comes with having Tommy John surgery.
Either way, Schafer is out for the long haul and will not play this season. His two-way plan of attack has been halted for the time being.
What he will do after his arm is fully healed is anybody’s guess.
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