Pittsburgh Pirates Lose Charlie Morton to Torn Elbow Ligament
By Matt Shetler
After losing back-to-back games in Baltimore, the Pittsburgh Pirates received some more bad news today as it pertains to starting pitcher Charlie Morton.
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported sources confirmed Morton has a torn ligament in his right elbow and is expected to have Tommy John surgery that will cost him the rest of this season.
Morton was already shut down by the team after last pitching May 29 and complaining of elbow pain. It was dismissed it as minor at the time as Morton was throwing off flat ground as recently as the past weekend.
Morton has started nine games so far this year. He’s 2-6 in those games with a 4.65 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. In his last start, he went four innings and gave up four runs on six hits and one walk without any strikeouts.
One school of thought is that the Bucs rushed Morton back too soon from his hip surgery in the offseason as Morton clearly wasn’t the same pitcher as last season, especially in his most recent starts.
It’s also bad news considering the pitching depth in the organization as Morton may have been arm armed dangled as trade bait in order to pick up a needed bat.
Neal Huntington and the Pirates have yet to confirm that Morton will require season ending surgery.