Mets' Wheeler has torn UCL, expected to undergo Tommy John surgery

Less than a month after welcoming back Matt Harvey from Tommy John surgery, the New York Mets are on the verge of losing another heralded young pitcher.

The team announced Zack Wheeler has a torn UCL in his throwing elbow and will travel to New York on Monday to seek a second opinion. Provided the diagnosis is confirmed, the hard-throwing right-hander will likely undergo season-ending surgery.

"You're always prepared for bad news," general manager Sandy Alderson told reporters Monday. "But, honestly, I have to say this kind of result is not totally unexpected."

Alderson's declaration helps explain the team's reluctance to deal from its surplus of starting pitching this offseason, perhaps because of uncertainty over the ligaments in Wheeler's elbow.

The Mets GM said the club had been forewarned as early as last year that doctors were concerned regarding the 24-year-old, and that the pitcher skipped multiple bullpen sessions between starts due to discomfort.

Wheeler was scratched from Saturday's start after experiencing tenderness in his elbow, though the team sounded unconcerned at the time. 

"There are a lot of games he pitched with his elbow bothering him," manager Terry Collins said at the time. "So we know it’s been there. We know he’s had this issue before."

(Courtesy: FanGraphs)

Wheeler, who threw a career-high 185 1/3 innings with a team-leading 187 strikeouts in 2014, entered camp this spring with a lofty goal of reaching the 200-inning plateau. 

But despite the warning signs – including Wheeler undergoing two MRIs in the offseason on his elbow and Collins saying his delivery leaves him susceptible to discomfort – Alderson insists the issues were believed to be manageable and that previous testing showed no ligament damage.

"Something we've learned is that you have to individualize the recovery for each pitcher and each injury," Alderson said Monday. "This is an industry-wide problem, and is something that baseball will continue to look at."

Harvey, who missed the entire 2014 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, has looked sharp this spring and is expected to be ready by Opening Day. 

Collins confirmed Monday afternoon that Dillon Gee will replace Wheeler in the starting rotation.