Beachy will have second Tommy John surgery

Medlen was the 25th pitcher known to have had a second Tommy John surgery since 1999, according to research by Dodgers head athletic trainer Stan Conte. Beachy would be the 26th. Somewhat remarkably, the Braves will have three of those 26 in their clubhouse, at various stages of recovery.

Before Medlen and Beachy, fourteen of the previous 24 came back to pitch in the majors, with varying degrees of success, and three more — Randy Wolf, Todd Coffey and Venters — are nearing possible returns this season.

Only about 20 percent of the pitchers who’ve returned from a second Tommy John surgery have pitched again at pre-surgery performance level, and the percentage has been higher for relievers than starters.

The announcement that Beachy would have Tommy John surgery was expected, after he and the Braves said earlier in the week that tests showed damage to the ligament, rather than merely biceps tightness as Beachy initially believed.

Beachy and Medlen both saw Andrews earlier this week. Medlen had surgery at Andrews’ clinic near Pensacola, Fla., while Beachy traveled to Los Angeles to get another opinion from ElAttrache about the need for another Tommy John surgery.

ElAttrache concurred with the torn-ligament diagnosis and surgery recommendation, and Beachy decided to have him do the procedure rather than Andrews.

Braves general manager Frank Wren said the team didn’t try to influence the choice of surgeon. Both Medlen and Beachy are under one-year contracts and would remain under team contractual control in 2015, provided the Braves tender them contracts after the season.

“He chose to have (surgery) out there,” Wren said. “The way I look at it, this is his career. He’s got to feel confident and comfortable with how this is going to play out. And if he has a better comfort level with one doctor versus another, that’s OK. That’s all part of the healing process going forward, is that confidence. So if that’s how he feels, that’s OK.”

Roster cuts: The Braves trimmed the camp roster by five when they optioned right-handed relievers Luis Vasquez and Juan Jaime, catching prospect Christian Bethancourt and outfielder Todd Cunningham to Triple-A Gwinnett and optioned shortstop Elmer Reyes to Double-A Mississippi.

Vasquez was a strong candidate for a bullpen spot after the Braves signed him as a free agent during his impressive winter season in the Dominican Republic. He got a late start in camp because of lat-muscle injury sustained in his final winter-ball playoff appearance, and his fastball velocity was down a few mph.

The sidearmer allowed two hits in 3 2/3 innings over four appearances, but had six walks with two strikeouts.

“His arm strength’s still not back to where we saw in the Dominican,” Wren said. “In the Dominican we were seeing him consistently more in that 94 (mph) range, and we haven’t seen that here. Having that tear in the lat muscle and being out for six weeks, I think it impacted him and set him back. Then he just looked to me like he was trying to play catch up on the mound all the time.

“So for him to go down (to Gwinnett) and just get settled in and show us what he showed in the Dominican, that’s really all we’re going to be looking for.”

The last spot: Infielder Tyler Pastornicky could make his Grapefruit League debut Friday and might have enough time to compete for the lone remaining bench job on the Braves' opening-day roster. Coming back from September knee surgery, he played in three minor league games this week and tentatively is scheduled to play in the major league split-squad game Friday against the Orioles in his hometown of Sarasota. Other candidates for the last bench job include first baseman/left fielder Joey Terdoslavich, former Cardinals utility player Tyler Greene, and possibly speedy outfielder Jose Constanza.