Albert Pujols Undergoes Elbow Surgery

Believe it or not, Albert Pujols played all season with a bum elbow -- considering he hit .357 with a 190 OPS+ while playing hurt, it's a little scary to think about what he would have done completely healthy.

There were rumors that he'd ultimately require Tommy John surgery (which isn't quite as scary for non-pitchers but is still a major operation) but he dodged that bullet during an operation on Monday. Instead of replacing his injured ligament, he underwent an operation to simply move a nerve that was being irritated. From Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

"I would not describe it as a big-deal procedure," Paletta said during a teleconference Monday.

The procedure transferred the ulnar nerve from a groove running along the inside of Pujols' elbow to in front of the joint's bony prominence. Paletta called the nerve "clearly irritated and inflamed." Before surgery, the nerve popped from its groove whenever Pujols tried to straighten the elbow, according to Paletta. The condition caused tingling and numbness in Pujols' right pinky and ring finger.

He's expected to begin rehab this week, resume baseball activities in three months and be at full strength by spring training. Those are all good things, right? Of course.

But the question still remains: isn't his ligament still damaged? Doesn't the threat that he'll someday require Tommy John still loom? I'm not a surgeon, but it seems like it does. Since he's not a pitcher, perhaps there's no reason he can't continue to play -- it's not like it's affecting his hitting -- but this operation is hardly a guarantee that Pujols won't ultimately need another operation six months from now. Keep your fingers crossed, Cards fans.