Maness has UCL, not Tommy John, surgery
PHILADELPHIA -- Seth Maness' surgery on his ulnar collateral ligament Thursday went well, in two aspects. It was a successful operation -- and it wasn't Tommy John surgery, as had originally been scheduled.Rather than replacing Maness's injured ligament with another -- the Tommy John procedure -- doctors only repaired the
PHILADELPHIA --
Rather than replacing Maness's injured ligament with another -- the Tommy John procedure -- doctors only repaired the existing one, drastically reducing his recovery time.
"They went in and had to tack [the ligament] down," manager Mike Matheny said. "I think it changes the prognosis of when he could potentially be back."
Recovery from Tommy John can take anywhere from 12-18 months. Matheny said Maness could be back in half that time, by Spring Training next year on the early end. No matter when Maness returns, it's an arm the Cardinals couldn't account for prior to Thursday's operation. He almost certainly would have been out the entirety of the 2017 season had Tommy John been required.
Maness had pitched through elbow discomfort all year before deciding to go under the knife for a season-ending surgery. He was shelved for more than a month because of his elbow from May 13-June 18. Prior to the DL trip, Maness had a 6.39 ERA, but after returning he posted a 1.42 mark, including a 14 1/3 scoreless-inning streak.
Worth noting
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"It sounds like it went well," Matheny said. "I'm anxious to hear how they feel the healing process is going, but it sounds like things went as good as possible."
• Backup catcher
Evan Webeck is a reporter for MLB.com based in Philadelphia.