Erik Bedard’s Torn Labrum

by
August 14, 2009

Bill Bavasi, the gift that keeps on giving. I will spare you the second line to that reference.

Today, it shines through truer than yesterday as the exploratory surgery on Erik Bedard’s shoulder by Dr. Lewis Yocum revealed an inflamed bursa sac, which was no surprise given the symptoms, and a torn labrum, which was no surprise but still a colossal disappointment.

Bedard now has to wait four to six months before resuming any baseball-related activities. Shoulder issues are a steep hill to overcome and Bedard will have to start from scratch around February assuming no further set backs. The amount of time to rehab and build up strength again means mid to late 2010 is likely Bedard’s best case return date. We have a winner already for 2010’s version of Ben Sheets.

30 starts, 164 innings pitched. That is what the Mariners got out of Erik Bedard over his final two years of club control. That is what the Mariners got out of Erik Bedard because Bill Bavasi traded Adam Jones, Chris Tillman, Tony Butler, George Sherrill and Kameron Mickolio. It would be easy for Mariner fans and reporters to blame Erik Bedard. I, for one, cannot see how this is any bit his fault. By all accounts, he tried his hardest to compete for the team but his body failed him. And then he kept on trying, pitching through what was diagnosed as a shoulder cyst last year and a torn labum this year.

Perhaps amazingly, given the degree to which we know now he was operating, Bedard still managed to post extremely good numbers when he was on the mound with the Mariners. The talent and stuff is undeniable, but for teams that were already going to be gunshy about giving the notorious fragile Bedard a contract this winter, a torn labrum might send them to Mark Prior before they give any more attention Erik’s way.

A sad day.





 

Matthew Carruth is a software engineer who has been fascinated with baseball statistics since age five. When not dissecting baseball, he is watching hockey or playing soccer.

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300ZXNA
14 years ago

While I agree for the most apart about Bedard not being at fault, I do, however, have to take issue with the fact that he hid his injury not only this year, but last as well. Had he been more forthright about his injury, perhaps his injuries wouldn’t have become so severe. Anyway, as a Mariner fan recovering from Bavasi induced Tourette’s, things like this still give me a blood pressure spike despite the fact that I know the M’s are in good hands and moving the right direction.

On the continuum of horrible trades, where does this one rank? To me this is basically the baseball equivalent of the Hershel Walker trade.

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DavidCEisen
14 years ago
Reply to  300ZXNA

It’s not nearly as bad as the Hershel Walker Trade. Possibly not even as bad as the Bartolo Colon trade.

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Andrew
14 years ago
Reply to  DavidCEisen

It’s actually worse than the Colon deal.

For one – acquiring FIVE players up front for a notoriously cantankerous pitcher with only two legitimate big leagues seasons is quite a haul.

Then you need to consider the deal netted the Orioles an All-Star CF, an All-Star closer (who then was traded for the theoretical 3B of the future and a solid if unspectacular pitching prospect), a young fireballer that is considered one of the top 10 pitching prospects in baseball, a solid middle relief prospect and Tony Butler, who I believe is going to be organizational filler.

Cliff Lee didn’t get dominate until three years ago and Phillips didn’t get good until he left the Indians.

If the O’s are contenders in the next three years, this will be the trade that got them there.

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DavidCEisen
14 years ago
Reply to  DavidCEisen

The Expos gave up a Cy Young winning pitcher, an MVP caliber CF, and an all star 2nd baseman. The Indians may have given up on Phillips, but that doesn’t make the trade any better from Expos point of view.

If you want to include later trades of players, the Indians turned Lee into: Carrasco, Knapp, Marson, and Donald. So basically the Indians got: Sizemore, 5.5 years of Lee (he was worth 4 WAR in ’05 and 2.4 WAR in ’06, so ’08 & ’09 were not his only good years), Carrasco, Knapp, Marson, and Donald. And they only gave up Colon for half a season.

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joser
14 years ago
Reply to  300ZXNA

Bedard concealed injuries? Not for long. Certainly not for half a year of terrible, team-harming production like Raul Ibanez in the first half of ’07.

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diderot
14 years ago
Reply to  joser

Amen to this.
300, how exactly do you know that Bedard hid injuries?
It is beyond tedious to hear frustrated people blame Bedard for the trade. The guy did not trade himself. And if he had, he knows too much baseball to have demanded that much from the Mariners.

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