If John Lackey needed an excuse as to why his season was so bad, he probably just got one—but its not very good news.
After traveling to California for an MRI, the Boston Red Sox righthander learned that he will require Tommy John Surgery to repair his damaged right elbow, the team’s new general manager Ben Cherington announced on Tuesday.
As a result, Lackey, who had a historically bad season, will miss the entire 2012 season. After receiving an MRI, doctors determined that Lackey undergo the procedure, which includes intensive rehab. He is set to make $15.95 million while he rehabs next season, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts.
“John Lackey pitched through circumstances this year that I don’t think any of us can fully understand, and he got beat up for it a little bit,” Cherington said during his introductory news conference, according to ESPN Boston. “This guy was dealing with stuff both on the field and off the field that were very difficult, and he showed tremendous toughness pitching through that.”
Two years into a five-year, $82.5 million deal with the Red Sox, Lackey went 12-12 with a 6.41 ERA, and was put on the disabled list after experiencing tightness in his elbow, but he later returned to the club after rehabbing the injury.
In 2010, Lackey went 14-11 with a 4.40 ERA for the Red Sox.
Cherington, follows Theo Epstein who bolted from Boston to take the same position with the Chicago Cubs. Lackey may be one of the worst signings of Epstein’s tenure, after luring him to the Red Sox prior to the 2010 season.
“Toward the end of the year it began bothering him a little bit more,” Cherington said of Lackey, who spent the first eight years of his career with the Angels. “He made that last start in New York and actually pitched pretty well but was battling it.”
