Turns out, Padres pitcher Dinelson Lamet will not be back by May.

Probably not even next May.

The right-hander has opted to undergo Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow.

“It’s not something that is good to go through,” said Lamet, who has been on the disabled list since the start of the season after leaving the Padres spring training finale due to elbow pain. “But sooner or later in this game it’s something you might have to deal with.”


An initial examination of Lamet’s arm on March 25 indicated he had no structural damage, but an MRI taken in the ensuing days revealed a tear significant enough to require surgery.

At that time, Lamet sought a second opinion, which confirmed that diagnosis.

Still, the pitcher said he was feeling good and actually was showing remarkable strength in the arm, according to sources. He resumed playing catch on April 5, increasing his distance from 45 to 60 and then 90 feet and throwing with increased velocity over the next several days.

When he still felt tightness in his elbow at 90 feet, he had another imaging done and this time decided to have the surgery.


The decision to go ahead with the procedure was made Friday morning, and surgery is tentatively scheduled for some time next week with Dr. Keith Meister.

The Padres, while wanting to give Lamet the longest possible time frame to recover and still possibly pitch in 2019, all along deferred to Lamet. The pitcher received counsel from his agent and other players who had undergone Tommy John surgery.

“As an organization you don’t get to dictate to player to go have surgery,” manager Andy Green said Friday. “You partner with your player. You advise them. You let doctors talk to them. All that happened all the way through. The process took a couple weeks.

“I think that gives him the peace of mind he is doing the right thing. He doesn’t have a doubt in his head now, whereas before he thought ‘Maybe I can throw still.’ … It’s disappointing to say the least, but we wanted to walk alongside him throughout – not dictate, not tell him what to do – and wait for him to get there. He’s at that place now.”


Lamet learned of PRP (platelet rich plasma) therapy and other biological treatments during his investigation of options. He was initially encouraged by the lack of pain, telling the Padres he never experienced the pop and searing pain many pitchers do when they suffer a complete-thickness tear of the UCL.

Doctors consulted in recent days said an MRI of a majority of major league pitchers’ arms would reveal some degree of tear in the UCL. Padres pitcher Robbie Erlin, in fact, pitched with a tear for at least a couple years before it became severe enough for him to have Tommy John surgery in 2016.

In the end, Lamet agreed surgery was the most assured route to being the pitcher he had been and was becoming.

“I know there were other methods out there I could have tried,” he said through an interpreter. “… I think we all agreed this was the best route to (come back and) be able to throw the way I can throw.”


The Padres believe Lamet has top-of-the-rotation potential and after his outstanding spring were eager to see his progress in 2018. To that end, they believe he can be back on a major league mound by early- or mid-summer of ’19.

Typical Tommy John recovery for pitcher is 12-18 months, from surgery to a return to game action.

Lamet, 25, had seemed this spring to build off his strong rookie season. He was clocked in the high 90s multiple times, to go with a darting slider and an improving curve.

Lamet had a 4.57 ERA in 21 starts.


While he struggled at times with control and an over-reliance on his top two pitches, he dazzled with a 2.44 ERA over a 10-start (59 innings) stretch from late July to mid-September.

His 114 1/3 innings did not qualify him to be included in the final MLB statistical rankings, but his 10.9 strikeouts per nine innings would have ranked sixth behind Chris Sale, Robbie Ray, Max Scherzer, Corey Kluber and Chris Archer.

“In terms of the timing, yeah, it’s hard,” Lamet said, ‘… Despite everything, I definitely feel fortunate to be where I am, to be able to show in spring training the work in the offseason paid off, to have earned what I earned and know I was in good position to have success.”

kevin.acee@sduniontribune.com


UPDATES:

5:05 p.m.: Story updated with quotes from Dinelson Lamet and Andy Green.