Markakis Likely to Have Neck Surgery
A new Braves outfielder is in the house in Atlanta – wearing jersey #22 – and Nick Markakis had a shocking answer to a question about his neck… the ailment that may have caused a pause in the Orioles pursuit of him. Here’s Ken Rosenthal’s reports:
Sources: Markakis leaning toward surgery to repair bulging disc in neck. Recovery time up to 12 weeks. #Braves knew of possibility.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 5, 2014
Before signing Markakis, #Braves viewed report of specialist who did independent evaluation of him. Confident he will be ready Opening Day.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 5, 2014
Source: Atlanta Braves twitter feed
All right, let’s do the calendar math: today is Friday, December 5th. Twelve weeks puts us at February 27th… except that he’s obviously not yet checked into the hospital. So let’s suggest “mid-March” if all goes perfectly. That’s down to 2-3 weeks prior to the start of the season. It will be close, but doable, though his conditioning will undoubtedly be behind schedule after neck surgery.
Reports from multiple source indicate that the Braves knew all they needed to know about this before the signing, and thus went into it with their eyes open. I suppose it might have had some impact on the size of Markakis’ deal, but that part is not being reported.
One more quote….
Nonetheless, it still has to make one squirm a bit to have this news right out of the box as he’s being introduced to the Atlanta media on the first day of a 4 year contract.