A's lefty Ken Waldichuk undergoes reconstructive elbow surgery

OAKLAND, Calif. --Oakland Athletics left-hander Ken Waldichuk had reconstructive surgery on his troublesome pitching elbow and will be sidelined all season, another tough injury blow for the pitcher this past year.

Already on the 60-day injured list with a ulnar collateral ligament sprain in his pitching arm, he was examined by Dr. Neal ElAttrache on Monday and it was determined he needed the procedure. Waldichuk suffered a setback in his rehab after facing hitters April 29.

The surgery performed by ElAttrache included a flexor tendon repair and a UCL reconstruction with internal brace procedure. Waldichuk will return to Oakland and his rehabilitation.

Waldichuk had been working his way back from an offseason procedure to remove scar tissue from his pitching elbow to help alleviate pain he experienced after his final start of the 2023 season.

Waldichuk pitched Sept. 29 on the road against the Los Angeles Angels and then began experiencing discomfort. He was later diagnosed with a flexor tendon strain and an ulnar collateral ligament sprain following an MRI exam.

He was first examined by Dr. Mike Freehill at Stanford and then also by ElAttrache. Waldichuk chose to go the conservative route for rehab and had a Tenex procedure with Dr. Steve Yoon on Oct. 17 to remove the scar tissue. He had a follow-up PRP injection to the flexor tendon on Oct. 24 and began physical therapy.

Waldichuk went 4-9 with a 5.36 ERA in 35 appearances and 22 starts with one save over 141 innings for the A's in 2023, his first full big league season.