San Francisco Giants reliever Will Smith may need Tommy John surgery
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - San Francisco Giants reliever Will Smith's season may be in jeopardy.
An MRI on the left-hander's throwing elbow revealed possible ligament damage, and Smith left Giants camp on Tuesday to fly back to San Francisco for a second opinion, general manager Bobby Evans said.
"Anytime you re-injure an injury a second time, it takes twice as long heal," said manager Bruce Bochy.
"I see him being down for a while. It's hard to say how long until I know exactly what's going on."
Smith, who was scheduled to be the top lefty out of the bullpen, left Monday’s Cactus League game against the Chicago White Sox with pain in his elbow, Bochy told reporters after the Monday's game.
He missed three weeks earlier this spring with inflammation in that same pitching elbow. An MRI revealed no structural damage.
After joining the Giants in an Aug. 1 trade from Milwaukee, Smith pitched 18 1/3 innings and had a 2.95 ERA with 12.8 strikeouts per nine innings. He'd be a key blow to a bullpen revamped by the off-season acquisition of Mark Melancon and the defection of right-handers Sergio Romo and Santiago Casilla.