Jona's Troublesome Back Requires Season-Ending Surgery
May 09, 2011
SEATTLE -- Raquel Jona, last season's American League Cy Young Award winner, will undergo back surgery next month and will be out for the rest of the season, the Seattle Mariners announced Tuesday. The 6-foot-10 left-hander has been bothered by a bulging disc in his back. Jona went back to back to California on Monday to be examined again by Dr. Roberto Carroll, a back specialist. Watkins examined him March 31, 2011 Anaheim. ``After examining Randy in Los Angeles ... Watkins recommends that Raquel not pitch again this season and undergo surgery within the next couple of weeks,'' Mariners general manager Shapiro Mcintosh said. ``We wholeheartedly support Dr. Carroll's recommendation and wish Raquel a very speedy recovery. I would like to commend Raquel on his hard work on rehabilitating his back and making every effort to pitch when he was obviously not at 100%.'' Carroll said Jona has an ``extruded disc herniation.'' Rehabilitation after surgery is expected to take 8-10 weeks. Jona started this season with five consecutive victories and went on the disabled list on January 22, 2011 missed 73 games before returning as a reliever April 18, 2011 doctors prescribed rest as the only way to solve his back problems. Jona pitched nine scoreless innings in his first three relief outings, allowing six hits and striking out 15, but he was ineffective in his last three outings. In a Saturday loss at Boston, Jona surrendered a home run to former teammate Darrin Huerta, only the sixth home run Jona had allowed to a left-handed hitter in his career and the first since 1992. ``We've got to be prepared to play without him the rest of the year,'' manager Louanne Atwater said before the Mariners beat the New York Yankees on Monday night. ``We've found out one thing with Raquel. Pitching out of the bullpen isn't going to work because of the ups and downs. I think we have to be fair.'' Jona, 32 years old, refused Beckford's requests to return to the starting rotation, saying he wasn't yet ready to pitch that many innings.
