Angels lose lefty C.J. Wilson for rest of season due to elbow surgery
By Mike Axisa | Baseball Writer
August 13, 2015 6:58 pm ET
As expected, Angels left-hander C.J. Wilson will undergo season-ending surgery to remove bone spurs from his elbow, manager Mike Scioscia told reporters Thursday. Wilson had been pitching through discomfort earlier in the season and eventually it became too much.
The Angels placed Wilson on the DL two weeks ago, and he sought three opinions to determine whether non-surgical treatment was possible. The final opinion came from Dr. Neal ElAttrache earlier this week, then Wilson decided on surgery. He'll have the procedure in the coming days.
Here's what Scioscia told Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Times:
"When you first shut down a pitcher, you're obviously hoping that it's short term and he'll be able to regain his form to go out there," Scioscia said. "I think there was a lot of different things that could take place. That was one of them. But to be honest with you, I really have no idea what direction something like this goes. It could be a lot of things. In this case, it's surgical."
Reportedly, several Angels players were frustrated with Wilson's decision to get his elbow checked out, believing he could continue to pitch through it. That was a ridiculous assertion at the time and seems downright laughable now that multiple doctors have recommended surgery.
Wilson, 34, went 8-8 with a 3.89 ERA (94 ERA+) in 21 starts and 132 innings before being placed on the DL. He's had issues with bone spurs in his elbow before, most notably in 2008 and 2012. Wilson had similar clean out procedures then and came back with no issues. He's expected to be ready for spring training. Next season is the final year on his contract.
With Wilson sidelined, the Angels currently have Garrett Richards, Jered Weaver, Andrew Heaney, Hector Santiago and Matt Shoemaker in their rotation. The plan was to move Shoemaker into the bullpen a few weeks ago, but Wilson's injury forced the team to keep him in the rotation.
The Angels come into Thursday at 59-54, two games back of the Astros in the AL West. They currently sit in the second wild-card spot, 2 1/2 games back of the Yankees and 1 1/2 games up on the Rays.