San Diego Padres Cory Luebke will miss the 2014 season due to a second elbow surgery

San Diego, CA- San Diego Padres left-hander Cory Luebke will miss his second consecutive season due to a second reconstructive surgery on his left elbow.

Luebke according to Padres.com Corry Brock had an MRI on Friday that showed a tear in the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow.

Luebke missed all of last season while rehabilitating his elbow from Tommy John surgery back in 2012. Luebke was expected to return to the rotation at some point last season, but never did due to stops and starts during his rehab program. Rehab for Tommy John surgery is expected to take 12 to 18 months for pitchers.

Luebke’s rehabilitation was halted because of pain last September. However in December Luebke was given the clear to start throwing from a mound. Luebke was expected to make a push for the 5th spot in the starting rotation during Spring Training and was more likely heading to the bullpen to start the season, but now that hope will have wait till next season at the earliest.

Tonight’s news is a huge setback for Luebke as Padres GM Josh Byrnes told Padres.com Corry Brock.

"“I feel bad for him … from 2011 through the first part of 2012, he was certainly on his way,” said Padres general manager Josh Byrnes. “This is a real setback. There’s been a lot of missed time. Hopefully in a year or so, he can get back to being Cory Luebke.“This whole thing has been a mystery.”"

Luebke is 10-12 with a 3.25 ERA in his Major League career. Luebke last appeared in a game on April 27, 2012.
He was 3-1 at the time with a 2.61 ERA in five starts as the Padres ace and was expected to have an all-star season, before being shut down for Tommy John Surgery.

Not many pitchers have Tommy John Surgery twice, the most recent pitcher to have the surgery twice is Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Daniel Hudson who like Lubeke had his first surgery in ’12 and then again at the start if last season.