Eric O’Flaherty is the latest member of the Atlanta Braves bullpen to be out for the season. A MRI on Saturday revealed that O’Flaherty has a torn ulnar collateral ligament.
Next week O’Flaherty will visit Dr. James Andrews to get his opinion but a torn ulnar collateral ligament has a pathway that leads straight to Tommy John surgery.
O’Flaherty had pitched in 19 games this season for the Braves and had a 2.50 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP.
The 28-year-old O’Flaherty has been a valuable part of the Braves bullpen since 2009. Since joining the Braves O’Flaherty has appeared in 295 games and has compiled a 1.99 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP.
O’Flaherty’s loss will only further burden a Braves team which began the season without fellow left hander Jonny Venters who recently underwent his second Tommy John surgery.
The Braves are hopeful that they will get Brandon Beachy back in the next month. The 26-year-old right hander under went Tommy John surgery last season and will make his first rehab appearance on Sunday.
Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports reports that the Braves have signed Joe Biemel to a minor league deal. Biemel, as you can probably guess by now, has recently recovered from Tommy John surgery.
