ARLINGTON, Texas _ Kendall Graveman might be having the roughest 2018 of any pitcher in baseball.
Expected to be the leader of the of a young A's starting rotation this season, Graveman went from Opening Day starter to getting optioned down to the minors within the first month of the season. He was called up again in May for a start against the Yankees in New York before getting sent down again and was placed on the minor league disabled list at the end of May with a forearm issue. Turns out the injury was worse.
A's manager Bob Melvin confirmed Tuesday that Graveman, 27, will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the rest of the 2018 season. The surgery will take place some time this week with Dr. Keith Meister.
"Unfortunately that's where we've come with him," Melvin said. "A guy that's really invested in this team and has been a leader for this team. It's unfortunate that he's gotta go down this road right now and it's gonna take a little while for him to get back. We're all feeling that a little bit today."
The right-hander struggled this season with Oakland, going 1-5 with a 7.60 ERA in seven starts. When asked if the poor numbers could have been affected by the arm injury, Melvin said he saw no signs that would indicate that to be the case.
"It didn't look like the velocity was down," Melvin said. "There were times it was a little bit better than others, but he never said anything and it wasn't until the last two starts in Triple-A that he started feeling anything. Nothing popped up that would suggest that was altering his performance."
