Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Tony Gonsoli, 29, will undergo Tommy John surgery after all. He will likely miss the entire season until next year. He pitched through the pain because of incentives, and that’s what made it worse.
Gonsolin will undergo Tommy John surgery for a torn medial collateral ligament (UCL) in his elbow on March 2, which will cause him to miss the entire 2024 season, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Gonsolin was placed on the disabled list with right forearm inflammation a day after he pitched the worst start of his career, allowing 10 runs on eight hits (five home runs) with four walks and two strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings against the Miami Marlins on April 19. The Dodgers later ordered an MRI, which reaffirmed the elbow ligament damage.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “We knew Gonsolin had some elbow issues, but we thought he could pitch well enough. We talked to the doctors, and we felt it was time, it was inevitable at some point,” Roberts said of the surgery.
Gonsolin had a career-high season last year, going 16-1 with a 2.14 ERA in 24 games (130 1/3 innings), but missed the final five weeks of the season with a forearm strain in mid-August. This year, he went 8-5 with a 4.98 ERA in 20 games (103 innings), with the arm soreness contributing to his dip in performance. His average velocity on his four-seam fastball also dropped from 93.1 mph last year to 92.4 mph this year, which Gonsolin said he had more trouble commanding due to the pain. His walks per nine innings increased from 2.4 last year to 3.5 this year.
So why did Gonsolin pitch through the pain? Roberts said, “The medical staff assured him that there would be no further damage if he continued to pitch. Most pitchers play through some damage, some tears. At this point, there is no further tearing of the ligament, and he can continue to pitch, but he hasn’t been productive.”
While this was a throwing injury, there was a bigger reason. “There was a significant financial incentive for Gonsolin, who signed a two-year, $6.65 million contract with no salary adjustment last winter, to pitch through the discomfort,” the Los Angeles Times reported, noting that he has an option for 2023 and a raise in 2024.
Gonsolin has incentives of $500,000 for every 14, 16, 18, 20, 24, and 28 points he earns this year, one point for each start and one point for each relief appearance of 3⅓ innings or more. The maximum raise is $3 million, and after earning 20 points in 20 starts this year, Gonsolin earned an additional $2 million raise, boosting his salary from $3.4 million to $5.4 million next year.
“I think that’s what motivated him to keep throwing,” Roberts said. “We had a very candid conversation with him, letting him know that there was a possibility of surgery in the future. He wanted to keep pitching, and so did our pitching staff. We appreciated that, and he kept pitching. At some point, he said enough is enough, and we all agreed.”카지노
The Dodgers organization and Gonsolin himself knew the surgery would come at some point. The Dodgers, who had lost starters like Dustin May, Julio Urias, Noah Syndergaard, Ryan Pheffiatt, and Michael Grove to strains in the first half of the season, needed Gonsolin, and he played through the pain to fulfill a 20-game incentive before going under the knife. It’s a big payday for him next year, but it’s also a season-ending injury.