It’s Official: Surgery For Danny Duffy (and Blake Wood)

Despite a lot of hoping it wouldn’t turn out like this, Dr. Lewis Yocum confirmed the tear in Danny Duffy’s UCL and he’ll undergo Tommy John surgery.

That puts him out of action for all of 2012 and most of 2013 (though recovery times are shortening).

It turns out that Blake Wood needs the procedure as well. He was shut down in spring training with irritation in his throwing elbow and the first return date was said to be late April. Now, it’s been determined that  he has a tear as well and will go under the knife as well. While Wood wasn’t as vital a part of the pitching staff as Duffy, he has been an average reliever so far as a big leaguer and was showing signs of improvement.

In the last twelve months, the Royals have had four pitchers from the top of their prospect lists or from the big leagues require Tommy John surgery: Duffy, Wood, John Lamb last June and Joakim Soria at the end of spring training.

The Royals have the bullpen arms to sustain the losses of Wood and Soria, but Lamb and Duffy have been two of the top pitching prospects since they signed their bonuses. Lamb is throwing in Arizona now but no timetable for rehab starts has been set.

Meanwhile, Duffy is staying in good spirits and cheering on his team every night. Really, you should follow him on Twitter (@dduffkc23) to witness it.