 |
| Dallas Braden must come back from yet another major shoulder injury. (Getty Images) |
A's left-hander Dallas Braden, author of an improbable perfect game back in 2010 and proud native of "The 209," recently underwent surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. That means Braden's status for 2013 is very much left to question, and it's possible he won't pitch at all next season.
The 29-year-old Braden hasn't been on a major-league mound since April 16, 2011, and in May of that year he underwent surgery to repair his shoulder capsule. As Slusser notes, it appears that Braden tore his rotator cuff not while pitching but rather while rehabbing his previous shoulder injury.
Since Braden is arbitration-eligible (he's under contract for $3.35 million this season), it seems highly likely that the A's will non-tender him this off-season.
At this point, one must wonder whether Braden will ever pitch again at the highest level. While elbow problems are fairly routine these days, serious shoulder injuries -- especially those involving the rotator cuff -- still end careers.
For more baseball news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnBaseball on Twitter, subscribe to the RSS feed and "like" us on Facebook.
