Brackman’s elbow up in the air

August 16, 2007 by Benjamin Kabak 19 Comments

In this piece, Tyler Kepner of The New York Times gives a concise rundown of the oh-so-familiar negotiations between Andrew Brackman and the Yankees. While we know a lot about the deal, we don’t know much about the first round draft pick’s elbow. In the article in The Times, Brackman has this to say: “The elbow is still a little aggravated. But the ligament is not torn, so that is good news.” We’ll find out what that means when he reports to Tampa this week and begins throwing. Fingers crossed.

CB

The source for that NY Times report seems to be this interview that brackman did with one of the NC State student newspapers. It appears on their website. Brackman talks at greater length about his medical evaluation and the results.

http://www.gopack.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=9200&ATCLID=1152013
E-ROC

Damn that Scott Boras. I wonder if he donates to charities. I hear the E-Roc foundation is in need of some help

On serious note, his elbow ligament isn’t torn, but irritated. Anytime you go and see James Andrews, you are more than likely going under the knife. Hopefully, he doesn’t have to go that route.
Kyle

If he has had elbow issues in the past and this could be a lingering issue, I would rather him have Tommy John right now and get that all fixed up. If he doesnt go that route I hope Nardi and the coaches can fix his mechanics to alleviate the elbow stress
Pettitte’s stare

I see we had to DFA Basak to make room for Brackman, if there is another move before rosters expand in September who do you see going? Would it just be Henn being sent down? Who do you see the Yankees protecting this year from the Rule 5 draft?
Relaunch

I believe this is an awful signing. For the money plus the need for TJ surgery, I don’t know how the Yanks can take this kind of risk. MLB draft picks are less likely than NFL and NBA draft picks to succeed.
Kyle

So what, if he fails whats the big deal, we lose 4.5 million over 4 years. You realize we paid Miguel Cairo $750000 to be a utility player this year. If he fails its a drop in the bucket, if he reaches his ceiling we have another ace pitcher to add to our rotation
Relaunch

Its still alot of money for someone that you have no idea about. I’m just not a fan of getting pitchers that need TJ. Yanks already have one with Sanchez.
Pettitte’s stare

Actually they have multiple pitchers that have gone under the knife, you can add both cox and mealacon to Sanchez, and I think i’m missing another one as well. I don’t mind signing players who are going to have Tommy John surgery because the success rate is so high. Also, this is a case of a player who fell far below where he should have been. Before he hurt himself he was easily considered a top 10 pick. There wasn’t another person that I would have grabbed at the Yankees pick that had the upside that Brackman has.
http://www.riveraveblues.com Joseph P.

Christian Garcia is the other one.

I gotta favor this signing. The Yankees are doing what the Yankees should: exploiting the inefficiencies of the market in their favor. Players drop due to bonus demands, and the Yanks have the money to cover those demands. They always pick low in the draft, so their best bet to pick up future major leaguers is to overspend on high talent players.

Yes, some of them are going to bust. But that’s the risk any team takes with any high-ceiling player. I’d rather pony up the extra money for a talent like Brackman than draft someone at slot for the 30th pick.
http://mvn.com/milb-yankees Eric Schultz

you’re missing Christian Garcia.
The Scout

I am less worried over the money than I am about the slot on the major league roster. I suspect the Yankees expect Brackman to move very quickly thru the system, much like Chamberlain and Kennedy did this year. But he has less polish by far than the latter. One interesting possibility is that the Yankees would use him out of the bullpen, along the lines if Zumaya and (temporarily) Chamberlain. With an overpowering fastball and one decent secondary pitch, Brackman could have a major impact out of the bullpen sooner rather than later. All this is moot, of course, if he has elbow surgery.

BTW, Brackman, Betances, and Scott Patterson would former a taller basketball frontcourt than most Division 1 schools have…
http://SportingGurus.com Adam

It’s probably best, honestly, to just TJ him right now.

Why waste time? It’s going to be done anyway.
Kyle

You could say that Brackman’s stuff has more polish then Chamberlain, who doesnt really have much of a change. Brackman’s biggest problem right now is just innings, he hasn’t thrown that many of them. However his stuff is now the best of any of our minor leaguers. High 90s fastbal, plus Knuckle curve (bet they scrap that to protect the elbow) and a very good change. If they can get him innings, get his elbow healthy and iron out any mechanical kinks he could be awesome.

I found this scouting report:
Scouting Report: This is where Andrew Brackman starts to shine. Brackman has a two-seam and four-seam fastball, regularly 92-97MPH, and he’s touched 99 before. His two-seamer has good movement. He throws a knuckle-curve 78-81 MPH with good movement. He throws a changeup 82-84MPH; it has plus-pitch potential. He has good command of his fast stuff but a little bit lesser command of the breaking stuff. He also might have a splitter (though I have yet to see video of it), which is rumored to be a plus pitch also. The biggest knocks on him, however, also come in scouting. His mechanics are inconsistent. In addition, this spring he hasn’t pitched due to what’s being called a “dead arm”, and there have been rumors of Tommy John. In addition, he’s never been able to pitch a full college season and there are lots of things to be scared about in terms of durability.

His stuff is great right now, he just needs to iron out his mechanical/injury/control issues, which I bet are all linked. You fix the elbow and mechanics I bet he starts throwing more strikes
http://SportingGurus.com Adam

I bet so, too.

It would seriously behoove the Yankees to just TJ him. I mean, they wasted time with Sanchez when everyone knew he needed it.

Do it right now, and start his rehab quickly.
Pettitte’s stare

Scout, does his Major League deal mean that he is part of the 25 or 40 man roster? I’m thinking he just has to go on the 40 man roster and be protected from the rule 5 draft immediately rather then after three years. I’m not so worried about this spot being taken up cause I imagine that as soon as he goes under the knife he will be put on the 60 DL and not hurt the Yankees ability to move other players up and down.
Kyle

40 Man roster Pettites stare and you’re right about the 60 day Dl thing
The Scout

The reports are that he’ll be on the 40-man roster, not 25-man. IF he undergoes TJ surgery, then you (Pettite’s stare and Kyle) are correct about the roster impact changing. It doesn’t appear, though, that there is a rush to operate.

This brings us to an interesting point: it isn’t always clear-cut when TJ surgery is needed. You may remember that the medical evidence appeared equivocal in the Pavano case. (BTW, Cox had a different surgical procedure.) Despite the good recovery record for TJ surgery, it is far from certain a pitcher will recover fully, and the process can take two full years. I would not rush into it, then, unless the condition of the elbow clearly requires it. Since that doesn’t seem to be the case here, I expect no surgery this year. That means Brackman will occupy a spot on the 40-man roster this off-season, allowing the team to protect one less prospect.

I’m still curious what others think about the possibility of Brackman out of the bullpen, sooner rather than later. The system has produced several excellent starting pitchers and prospects who are starters. But in part due to injury, there are fewer “pure” relievers who seem likely to help at the major league level in the near future.
Relaunch

If he needs TJ surgery, then I do agree its better to do it now than later. But if you ask anyone who has gone through any kind of invasive surgery, they would always want to do every other option (rehab, etc) before doing something invasive.
http://www.riveraveblues.com Joseph P.

Except, of course, Carl Pavano.