Jason Isringhausen Will Have Tommy John Surgery, Says Career Isn't Over

When a player with a long injury history like Jason Isringhausen leaves a game with elbow pain, it's easy to immediately assume the worst. That's where I assume most Rays fans placed themselves after Izzy pulled himself out of Saturday's game against the Nationals and Monday, the worst-case scenario was confirmed; Isringhausen has a torn ulnar collateral ligament and will require Tommy John surgery for the second time in his career.

Most people expected this announcement to come coupled with Izzy's retirement, but he's not going softly into the night. His agent indicated Monday that Isringhausen will have the surgery, rehab, and try to be in pitching shape again by the middle of next season.

Given everything that Isringhausen has pitched through in his career, it shouldn't be surprising that he's not just going to hang his glove up now. Still, he did have a ligament replacement done once already back in 1997 and the recovery rate for guys from their second Tommy John surgery is markedly lower than recovery from the first. Looking at the list of guys that have had it twice (if we can assume Wikipedia is comprehensive), only Hong-Chih Kuo has really bounced back from the second surgery. Given that Isringhausen is 36, there's a good chance that he's just not going to be able to get himself back into pitching shape after this surgery.