Wieters will have to undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery on his right elbow today, sidelining him for nine months.
“His facial, body language, and talking to him, we were hoping to get real lucky today,” Orioles Manager Buck Showalter told MLB.com. “As much work as he and the trainers and everybody had put in, he really wasn’t making a lot of progress.”
The news is certainly disappointing, especially since Wieters was having a career year at the plate, batting .308 with five home runs and 18 runs batted in. He is also regarded as one of the top defensive catchers in baseball.
Wieters, who hasn’t played since May 10, has been trying to get his arm back to normal for five weeks.
After continuing to experience discomfort, he requested to see the acclaimed surgeon Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion. An MRI revealed that his elbow had gotten worse since his first visit.
Having the surgery now should allow Wieters to return in time for the start of the 2015 season.
“You always try to go down the other avenue as much as you can, but we reached a point where we felt like he was going to have to eventually go ahead and have it,” Showalter told MLB.com.