According to baseball colomunist Bob Nightengale of USA Today, 40-year-old closer Joe Nathan has suffered a tear of his UCL and flexor-pronator ending his 2015 season after only one apperance. A tough blow for a Detroit Tigers bullpen that was already thin and had high expectations for a deep run into October, Joakim Soria will continue to serve as the Tigers closer at least for the time being. Nathan had landed on the diasble list back on April 8th with a flexor tendon strain in his elbow, but no one expected this type of result. The former Twin and Ranger was rehabing in AAA last night, when he couldn't finish his outing and walked off the mound in obvious pain. Joe had dealt with constant soreness in his elbow back in 2014 and in spring training this year, so it seems the wear had caught up to him once again.

Since coming to Detroit after the 2013 season, things haven't gone well for Nathan. He registered an ugly 4.81 ERA last season while only converting 35 out of 42 saves and dissapointing a team that had finally thought they had that dependable closer for the postseason. Not to mention that he went back and forth with the fans in Detroit after they continued to boo him hard each time he got rocked on the mound. Nathan is currently in the last year of a two-year, 20$ million deal, which leaves him in a weird position in terms of his future, since the recovery time for this injury is going to take more than a year and some change.

Not to be overlooked is how good Nathan has actually been throughout his career, since becoming a closer back in 2004 for the Minnesota Twins. Even including Nathan's rough 2014 season, he still has a dominant 2.89 career ERA along with 377 saves and a 9.5 K/9. Most relievers today are up and down each year with no ability to be consistently dominant for over a year, which is a why someone like Nathan should be appreciated more. Just because he had a rough year at age 39 for the Tigers, that shouldn't be thrown away, especially when taking into consideration that Nathan was dealing with lost velocity and health issues. In all reality, a guy like Nathan would probably have got a lot more attention throughout his career if Mariano Rivera wasn't out there taking things to a new level year in and year out.

It will be interesting to see what Joe does next with his baseball career, since the surgery and the recovery will take him well into age 41. It wouldn't be surprising to see him call it quits. The date for Nathan's Tommy John surgery hasn't been announced yet, but one could guess that when we do find out, it will give the public an idea as to what he's going to do. This is also the veteran's second go around with Tommy John, so he has a good idea as to what to expect. It would be great to see Nathan come back and go out on top, but at this point it doesn't seem likely, especially since his stuff had diminished so much over the past few years.

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About the author
Tyler Milliken
Hi my names Tyler, I'm just a guy who fell in love with the sport of baseball and the Boston Red Sox. I am a 18 year old at Curry College who has the hopes to one day be a well respected baseball journalist within this industry. Check me out on twitter @tyler_milliken for constant baseball debates and news. On this page my articles will range all the way from news across the league to my opinion on what teams should do involving prospects and potential moves. I Hope you all enjoy my work and thanks for checking it out! Have a nice day!