The Kansas City Royals have lost a valuable left-hander from their bullpen. MLB.com's Jeffrey Flanagan reports that Royals lefty Tim Collins has undergone Tommy John surgery and, therefore, will miss the entire 2015 season.
The Royals officially placed Collins on the 60-day disabled list Thursday.
Collins pitched in only 22 Major League games last season, compling a record of 0-3 with a 3.86 ERA and 1.38 WHIP in 21 innings. Removing his two April appearances in which he allowed four runs in one total inning shows that Collins put up very hefty numbers in his 20 games that followed: 0-2, 3.00 ERA and 1.15 WHIP.
That peformance led to Collins's making the postseason roster. He pitched two thirds of an inning in the ALDS against the Los Angeles Angels. He then made three appearances in the World Series against the San Francisco Giants, allowing two earned runs in five total innings.
In four seasons since 2011, Collins has a career record of 12-17, 3.54 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, and 117 ERA+ in 228 appearances, all out of the bullpen.
Flanagan reminds us that Collins tore the UCL ligament in his left elbow a week ago. Collins met with Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion Wednesday and had the surgery performed that evening. Flanagan quoted Royals general manager Dayton Moore discussing the injury and the decision to have the surgery. Said Moore,
"It's certainly very disappointing for Timmy. He has been a very important part of our bullpen. Our expectations for him were that he was going to have a terrific year. But he'll get through this and we expect him to have a great recovery. We wish Timmy the best going forward."
Moore and manager Ned Yost already have other lefties to audition for the role vacated by Collins: Joe Paterson, Franklin Morales, Brian Flynn, and rookie Brandon Finnegan. Flanagan notes that Morales and Finnegan appear to be the front runners.