The Brewers quest to fill their final rotation spot just got a little easier, but not in a good way. The twinge that Chris Capuano felt in his elbow last week turned out to be another tear of his ulnar collateral ligament, which will most likely result in a second Tommy John surgery (his first was in 2002). Though the Brewers haven't really made any comments, it seems likely that the injury means locks Manny Parra into their fifth rotation spot. Parra had somewhat of a breakout year in AA and AAA last year, going 10-4 with a 2.45 ERA, striking out a batter an inning across both levels. Parra may be the fifth starter in name, but he'll probably be the third best pitcher in the rotation, which means he's going to have the help Yovani Gallardo shoulder the load when Ben Sheets inevitably gets hurt in June.
As for Capuano, things look bleak. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has some names of players that have had two Tommy John surgeries and they came up with Darren Dreifort, Chad Fox, and Steve Ontiveros. That's not exactly an inspiring list to add your name to.
