Braves rookie left-hander Manny Banuelos had a bone spur surgically removed from his pitching elbow Thursday and should be fully recovered for spring training, team officials said.
The arthroscopic procedure was done by Dr. James Andrews at his Florida clinic, and the Braves were told that the spur had caused no damage to the ular collateral ligament, which Banuelos had reconstructed by Andrews via Tommy John elbow surgery in October 2012.
This week’s outcome was about the best possible scenario the Braves could have realistically hoped for after scratching Banuelos, 24, from his scheduled start at Philadelphia last Friday due to elbow soreness. They scheduled a return visit with Andrews, who examined Banuelos a month ago when he was on the disabled list with elbow soreness.
An MRI at that time revealed no ligament damage, but the Braves and Banuelos were told he likely had a bone spur or bone chip that was causing the soreness, which worsened at times. Banuelos pitched with some discomfort throughout the season in Triple-A and the majors, and was told the spur should be removed if his elbow became painful.
The Braves hope that Banuelos will benefit from having the spur removed the way that hard-throwing reliever Arodys Vizcaino did after having a similar procedure midway through the 2013 season when Vizcaino was in the Cubs’ organization. Vizcaino, who also underwent Tommy John surgery in 2012, was able to increase his fastball velocity back to pre-Tommy John surgery levels after having the spur removed.
Banuelos was 1-1 with a 1.08 ERA and .213 opponents’ average in first four games (three starts) of his major league career this season from July 2 through July 18, but 0-3 with 12.10 ERA and .378 opponents’ average in his last three starts. That included his last start before a five-week stint on the DL and two truncated starts since returning from the DL.
Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said Banuelos couldn’t get full extension with his pitching arm because of the spur.
“(The doctor) said if he does it now he’ll be ready to go in spring training,” Gonzalez said of removing the spur.
The Braves got Banuelos from the Yankees in a Jan. 1 trade in exchange for relievers David Carpenter and rookie left-hander Chasen Shreve. Banuelos was among baseball’s top 30 prospects before the 2011 and 2012 seasons, but missed the 2013 season recovering from Tommy John surgery.
The Yankees were cautious with him and kept Banueloso on a strict innings limit in his first season back in 2014, when was 2-3 with a 4.11 ERA in 26 games (25 starts) at three minor league levels, with 71 strikeouts and 31 walks in just 76 2/3 innings.
He a total of 113 innings this season in 24 games (23 starts) in the major and minor leagues, and was 6-2 with a 2.23 ERA in 16 starts at Triple-A Gwinnett.
