Hagadone out 6-9 months following surgery
Indians left-hander injured elbow during Minor League appearance
CLEVELAND -- The Indians hoped that Nick Hagadone would be a force out of their bullpen this season. If the left-hander is going to develop into a late-inning weapon for Cleveland, it will have to wait until next year.
Hagadone underwent surgery to stabilize a fractured medial epicondyle bone in his left elbow on Thursday, ending his season. Dr. James Andrews performed an internal fixation of the bone in Pensacola, Fla., and informed the Indians that the pitcher will likely require a recovery period lasting six-to-nine months.
Hagadone was placed on the 15-day disabled list on July 8 with a lower-back strain and made his first Minor League rehab appearance on July 15 with Class A (short-season) Mahoning Valley. In that outing, Hagadone faced one batter and threw four pitches before sustaining the season-ending injury.
The injury is similar to the one that A's pitcher Jarrod Parker sustained in May. Dr. Andrews also performed Parker's procedure.
The 29-year-old Hagadone, who underwent Tommy John surgery on the same elbow as a Minor Leaguer in the Red Sox system in 2008, has a 4.72 ERA in 143 games in parts of five seasons with Cleveland. This year, the lefty appeared in 36 games, posting a 4.28 ERA with 28 strikeouts and 12 walks in 27 1/3 innings.