Luebke optimistic after second Tommy John surgery

PEORIA, Ariz. -- A day after having his second Tommy John surgery since 2012, Padres pitcher Cory Luebke was optimistic -- and a little groggy, he said.

"I just had a meeting with Dr. [James] Andrews to go over the surgery, and both sides are pretty happy," said Luebke, who underwent the elbow-reconstruction procedure in Pensacola, Fla., on Tuesday. "They were pretty optimistic."

Luebke said Andrews saw a "pretty good tear" when he went in for the surgery and that the tendon graft from the first surgery, for whatever reason, was never accepted by his body.

"He said it was yellow and mushy," Luebke said of the first graft.

Andrews told Luebke that the odds of anyone needing a second surgery of this type were rare, "like five to 10 percent," Luebke said. But Andrews conveyed a message of optimism.

"He felt they did a good job, and they were able to clean out some scar tissue from the first surgery," he said.

Andrews used a tendon from Luebke's right knee that was long and strong enough to include three loops to secure the tendon to the bone.

Luebke will return to the Padres' Spring Training facility in Arizona on Sunday and he will consult with a therapist in the Phoenix area who served as a consultant to D-backs pitcher Daniel Hudson, who also needed a second Tommy John surgery.

Luebke had his first surgery on May 23, 2012. He encountered several setbacks during his rehabilitation program. He had an MRI exam earlier this month that confirmed a tear, leading him to a second surgery.