Mets RHP Zambrano out for season with torn elbow tendon
FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) - One day after running off the mound with an elbow injury, Victor Zambrano was placed on the 60-day disabled list by the New York Mets and will miss the remainder of the season.
An MRI taken revealed that Zambrano has a torn flexor tendon in his pitching elbow. The Mets hope the righthander will be ready to return for spring training.
Zambrano grimaced in pain after throwing his 21st pitch in Saturday’s game against the Atlanta Braves. Manager Willie Randolph and trainer Ray Ramirez came to the mound to check on Zambrano, who remained in the game. However, two pitches later, after a strikeout of Andruw Jones for the first out of the second inning, Zambrano ran from the mound to the dugout.
The Mets announced the injury as “right elbow discomfort,” but Zambrano’s history of elbow trouble suggested the injury was more serious than that.
Mets pitcher Pedro Martinez told reporters after the game that Zambrano’s elbow “swelled up like a balloon.”
Zambrano was taken to the Hospital for Joint Diseases for an MRI, which revealed the torn tendon.
After pitching for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic, Zambrano had his first start of the season pushed back due to a hamstring injury. He was 1-2 with a 6.75 ERA in five starts.
Acquired from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for pitching prospect Scott Kazmir before the 2004 trade deadline, Zambrano made only three starts that season for the Mets before being sidelined with a strained flexor muscle in the elbow.
Last season, Zambrano made 31 starts for the Mets and was 7-12 with a 4.17 ERA.
Zambrano becomes the Mets’ third starter to go on the DL, joining Brian Bannister (hamstring strain) and John Maine (finger inflammation).
The Mets purchased the contract of righthander Jose Lima from Class AAA Norfolk of the International League to replace Zambrano on the roster. He was 2-3 with a 5.10 ERA at Norfolk.
Lima, 33, went 5-16 with a 6.99 ERA in 32 starts for the Kansas City Royals last season, allowing 219 hits in 168 2/3 innings.
However, the emotional Dominican is two seasons removed from helping the Los Angeles Dodgers win the National League West Division, going 13-5 with a 4.07 ERA and tossing a five-hitter in Game Three of the 2004 NL Division Series.
Lima won a career-high 21 games while pitching in the Astrodome in 1999, but began to struggle once the Astros moved to hitter-friendly Minute Maid Park.
In parts of 12 seasons with Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles and Kansas City, Lima is 89-98 with a 5.21 ERA in 344 games, including 231 starts.
