Drew Storen Injury: Nationals Closer Undergoes Elbow Surgery
Last night Bill Ladson of MLB.com passed along a report that Washington Nationals closer Drew Storen underwent minor elbow surgery yesterday. The procedure, which removed bone fragments from Storen’s elbow, was deemed a success, though the Nationals haven’t offered a timeframe for the right-hander’s return.
While nothing has been made official, Ladson said that the Nationals are confident Storen will return prior to the All-Star break. In the meantime, Brad Lidge and Henry Rodriguez will continue handling closing duties for the Nationals.
Storen was selected 10th overall by the Nationals in the 2009 MLB Draft. While pitchers usually develop into relievers after failing as starters, this was not the case with Storen. Washington pegged the Stanford University product as a bullpen arm from the beginning.
This allowed Storen to fly through the Nationals minor league system. After reaching Double-A in his first season of professional baseball, Storen was promoted to the majors in 2010.
Last year was Storen’s first as Washington’s full-time closer and he performed extremely well. Over his 73 appearances and 75 1/3 innings pitched, Storen posted an ERA and WHIP of 2.75 and 1.002 with 8.8 SO/9 and 2.4 BB/9.
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