Just Mets

Zack Wheeler has returned to Port St. Lucie, and told reporters he will undergo Tommy John Surgery to repair a fully torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow mid next week.

Dr. David Altchek at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York will perform the procedure.

Wheeler underwent an MRI last weekend which revealed the tear, but he was also pitching with significant pain in his elbow last season, which could be due to sustaining a partially torn tendon in his elbow.

Wheeler said on Friday the tendon tear – which was discovered during the off-season – is independent of the ligament damage.

Wheeler will miss the entire 2015 season, and expects to return in either May or June of next season. He went 11-11 with a 3.54 ERA in 185 1/3 innings in 2014, but showed significant growth during the second half of the season, going 8-3 with a 2.71 ERA in 96 1/3 innings over his final 16 starts despite pitching with a torn tendon in his elbow.

Wheeler is the fifth Met to require Tommy John Surgery since 2013. Matt Harvey, Jeremy Hefner, Bobby Parnell, and Josh Edgin have all undergone the procedure in that time.

You can read my thoughts on how the Mets handled Wheeler’s case here.

Read more about Wheeler’s surgery from Austin Laymance of MLB.com.