Breaking: Hanrahan to have season-ending surgery

AP Photo/Chris O'Meara

Sam Galanis
Contributing Writer

The Red Sox are officially short a closer for good this season. Joel Hanrahan has made the decision to have season-ending surgery to repair a damaged flexor tendon in his throwing arm. The surgery, which will take place next week, has a rehabilitation period of six to nine months. Acclaimed orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews will be performing the surgery. Dr. Andrews has had many notable patients such as Michael Jordan, John Smoltz, Roger Clemens, Robert Griffin III, and Rajon Rondo, among many others.

"[Andrews] basically walked in, looked at my arm, touched it, and said there really wasn't a decision," Hanrahan said in an interview with MLB.com. "The flexor pretty much tore right off the bone. It wasn't really a decision. It's just a matter of what kind of surgery it was going to be. As of now, it's just going to be the flexor. When he gets in there and takes a look, it could be worse, [or] it could be not as bad."

If they find ligament damage during surgery, Hanrahan could require Tommy John surgery as well. And with Hanrahan’s one-year contract, it’s not entirely set in stone what will happen to him after this season. So far, no negotiations have been made on whether or not he will resign with the Red Sox during his free agency.

"This is a guy that's 31 years old," John Farrell said to MLB.com. "And yes, free agency is pending, but you have to do what's right for the guy. You don't want a short-term solution or a quick fix. This is something that's got to be taken care of hopefully once, and then he has a long and productive career following."

With today’s advancements in surgery, it is likely that Hanrahan will come out fine after his surgery. He seems to want to prove to the Red Sox that he’s capable of being the closer after a less than ideal start, but that will all be up to who ends up being available while he’s gone. For now, Junichi Tazawa will stay in the closing position, and Andrew Bailey will come back from the 15-day disabled list Tuesday.




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