Back in 2013, Mets fans were shocked and depressed when Matt Harvey missed the remainder of the regular season with a torn UCL.  Initially, it seemed Harvey did not want the surgery, but eventually he agreed to have the surgery.  Fortunately for Harvey, he went through the rehabilitation process with no setbacks, and he became an important part of a 2015 rotation that went all the way to the World Series.

While rehabilitating, he worked alongside former Mets starter Jeremy Hefner.  In 2012 and 2013, Hefner had performed better than expected with the Mets, and he finally seemed to carve out some type of a role in the organization.  The team even tendered him a contract while he was rehabbing from his own Tommy John surgery.  However, disaster struck, and Hefner would need another Tommy John surgery.  He would miss all of the 2014 and 2015 seasons.  The Mets would non-tender him, and he would have to agree to a minor league contract with the St. Louis Cardinals.  Now, with another arm injury, he has since retired.

These are just two of the countless stories we have seen with the Mets when it comes to Tommy John surgery.  Recently, we have heard terrific stories about how Jacob deGrom learned how to throw the change-up from Johan Santana while deGrom was rehabiliting from his own Tommy John surgery.  It was a great story, and it was something that forever changed the trajectory of deGrom’s career.  There have been other Mets who have had their career trajectories change due to the surgery.

At one point in his career, Bobby Parnell was deemed the closer of the future.  In 2013, he seemed to take over the role when he recorded 22 saves.  In 2014, he would be named the Opening Day closer.  It lasted all of one inning as Parnell was shut down and had Tommy John surgery.  He tried to come back in 2015, but he did not have the same velocity, and he did not have his command.  The Mets showed no interest in re-signing him leading to Parnell signing a minor league deal with the Tigers.  After six major league appearances that saw him post a 6.75 ERA, Parnell was released in August.

Of course, the biggest name with the Mets to have issues post-Tommy John surgery was Zack Wheeler.  Right before the 2015 season was set to begin, Wheeler was diagnosed with a torn UCL.  He would have the surgery, and he would have a number of set-backs.  He was initially slated to be a part of the Mets starting rotation around the 2016 All Star break.  Instead, he would have a number of setbacks, and eventually, the Mets would shut him down for the season.  In total, he threw one inning for St. Lucie in a rehab appearance.  Now, the Mets are discussing whether they should move him to the bullpen for at least the start of the season.

Hefner, Parnell, and Wheeler show exactly why the experiment Seth Maness is undergoing is so important to the game of baseball.

For the past four seasons, Maness has been an effective reliever for the St. Louis Cardinals.  Because of his own torn UCL, Maness would make his last appearance on August 13th, and it was assumed he would be headed for Tommy John surgery like so many other people have with the same injury.  He didn’t.

Derrick Gould of the St. Louis Dispatch reports Maness underwent a surgery called “primary repair” which is ” a repair and buttressing of the existing ligament at the bone, not Tommy John’s reconstruction of the ligament.”  Like Tommy John once was, Maness is now a trailblazer that may have the name of a surgery attached to him.  The physician that performed the surgery, Dr. George Paletta, spoke about the procedure saying:

In select cases of UCL tears, with this technique, they have the real potential to not miss the next year.  This is potentially a huge stride forward in three ways. First, early results show a high success rate. Second, a return to play is cut by 40 percent. That’s a huge factor. We are able to accelerate the return-to-throwing (rehab) program for the athletes. With this technique at the end of 2016 we have a pitcher who is ready to pitch in games by opening day.

And the third way, as a consequence of this, in the right setting, one would feel more confident moving to surgery early on.

Believe it or not, Maness is a week away from being able to take the mound after a little more than seven months after the surgery.  It is expected the free agent reliever will be ready to pitch on Opening Day.  Once he takes the mound, there is going to be a lot of interest in his performance.

Dr. Jeffrey Dugas, another surgeon who performs this surgery and the managing partner at the Andrews Sports Medicine & Orthopedic Center in Birmingham, AL noted there is now a lot of interest in how Maness performs post-surgery:

People are watching this and it’s an interesting thing for all of us.  There is a lot that we need to learn from Seth, a lot that we need to learn from all of the guys (who have had it). We need the data. There are still so many hurdles to go over, but we’re excited to watch what is going to happen because of what is possible. We’re going to follow him very closely.

Therein lies the rub.  We had gotten to the point with Tommy John surgery where it had felt almost routine; where we looked at pitchers like Masahiro Tanaka and wondered why he just didn’t get the surgery.  The “primary repair” or Seth Maness Surgery is far from that point.  However, if Maness has a strong 2017 season, and a couple of more pitcher follow his path, and have similar success stories, the treatment fo UCLs may have been revolutionized.

There may no longer see the Harveys of the world miss more than a season.  We may also see an alternative route for the Hefners, Parnells, and Wheelers of the world.  Ultimately, when there is at least a chance pitchers will miss less time and have an alternative surgery that may work better for them, it is a time for cautious optimism.

And with that, a middle reliever who induces a number of groundballs could have one of the most important seasons in major league history.

Editor’s Note: this was first published on Mets Merized Online