Chad Kuhl stood in front of his empty locker stall at PNC Park, right arm in a sling, and told reporters Saturday afternoon he's at peace with his decision to undergo Tommy John surgery on his pitching elbow.
Kuhl, 26, has been at the ballpark watching his teammates throw in the bullpen the past few days and will return to his home in Delaware for the offseason before beginning the long road back to pitching in the majors. He's expected to miss 14 to 16 months after having his ulnar collateral ligament reconstructed by Dr. David Altchek in New York, which rules him out from pitching next season.
Yet, Kuhl expressed optimism Saturday after spending nearly three months wondering if the tightness in his right elbow and forearm would worsen. He made the decision last week when he wasn't able to throw a scheduled bullpen in St. Louis, and the procedure was performed eight days later.
"It was just one of those things where I knew it was time," Kuhl said. "I didn’t feel any worse or I didn’t experience more pain. It was just one of those moments where it was just time. I didn’t do anything different. I went at it the same way, but I knew if I got back on the mound it would just be the same thing. I tried to ramp up my flat ground a little bit and still felt that pain where I knew something needed to happen. It was nothing out of the ordinary. It was kind of the same pain I’d been feeling, but it was just that time to take the next step."
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