Detroit Tigers’ Luke Putkonen suffers setback; could be facing Tommy John surgery

The news had been good for Luke Putkonen‘s comeback the last week or so, making rehab appearances for both West Michigan and Toledo recently, but he has suffered a rather dire set back and is set to meet with renowned “Tommy John” surgeon, Dr. James Andrews.

The right handed reliever was expected to either rejoin the Detroit Tigers’ bullpen very soon or spend some time in Toledo until the big league club needed his services again. Instead he will abandon his rehab issues and consult with Dr. Andrews next week.

While this doesn’t necessarily mean that Putkonen will go under the knife, it definitely means he will miss quite a bit more time. If surgery is not needed, he’ll likely need to rest the arm for an unknown amount of time.

There have been an alarming number of pitchers in need of Tommy John surgery this year. Just this week it was announced that rising star Jose Fernandez, of the Miami Marlins, will undergo the procedure, and Tigers’ set-up man Bruce Rondon underwent successful surgery in March with hopes of returning for Spring Training 2015.

Luke hadn’t pitched much for the Tigers this season, appearing in just two games, but his arm issues may have been the reason he allowed eight runs on six hits in just 2.2 innings of work. He was placed on the disabled list on April 21 due to elbow inflammation.