The Washington Nationals have a history with pitchers having to undergo Tommy John surgery, with Jordan Zimmerman and Stephen Strasburgh being forced to undergo the procedure in the past couple years. Now, you can add another pitcher to the list, though this one is not nearly as significant. Right-handed reliever Cla Meredith, who spent most of last season in the Minors with the Baltimore Orioles, will undergo the procedure, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
Meredith began experiencing elbow pain two weeks ago, and took some time off hoping it would heal. But it did not, as the pain flared back up last Friday. The injury was supposed to be fixed with offseason surgery, but it clearly was not.
Meredith spent most of last year in AAA, but did pitch 15 innings for the Orioles. Manager Jim Riggleman said he was hoping to have him either as a long reliever on the big-league squad or an option in the minors. He had spent the three previous years as a long-relief option for the San Diego Padres, appearing in 80 games in 2007, 73 games in 2008 and 64 in 2009 split between San Diego and Baltimore.