Braves reliever Cory Gearrin will have his Tommy John surgery Wednesday in New York. Mets team physician Dr. David Altchek will perform the operation.
Gearrin received multiple opinions after an MRI revealed he had a tear in his ulnar collateral ligament, including from Dr. James Andrews in Pensacola, Fla, and ultimately decided to go with Altchek, the surgeon who operated on both Braves pitchers Gavin Floyd and Anthony Varvaro.
Floyd is several weeks away from making his return from Tommy John surgery. Floyd, who was set to pitch Sunday for Triple-A Gwinnett in the third start of his minor league rehabilitation, has had a smooth recovery. Varvaro, a native of Staten Island, went to Atlchek for his surgery coming out of St. Johns in 2005, before he started his professional career.
“Gavin and Anthony both had nothing but good things to say,” Gearrin said. “Gavin has been freakish the way he’s come back as well as he’s come back and done so well. I feel really good about it… (Varvaro) had it a long time ago and he’s done great. Gavin being a guy who did it last year, I thought they had two good perspectives on the whole process and what to expect.”
Gearrin, who injured his elbow in a spring training game March 25 against the Tigers, will celebrate his 28th birthday on Monday, then fly to New York on Tuesday.
“Get a new ligament for your birthday,” Gearrin said.
He said he didn’t know yet whether Altchek would use a ligament from a cadaver or from his own hamstring or wrist.
“Some of the guys I talked to said when you go in, you have a plan and then sometimes they make adjustments,” Gearrin said. “You pick the guy and let him do what he’s going to do and trust the surgeon, so that’s what I’ll do. I feel as good as I can about it, just go from there.”
