As expected, Carlos Martinez will have Tommy John surgery.
As the Marlins feared, the right-hander needs Tommy John surgery. Dr. James Andrews, who examined Martinez on Wednesday, will perform the operation today in Birmingham, Ala.
Martinez won't begin a throwing program until November and likely won't be back until several weeks into the 2007 season.
I doubt the Marlins will even see him in the Majors until 2008. He will probably spend next year rehabbing in the Minors.
It's a shame that this happened but it is becoming a rather frequent occurrence amongst the young pitchers, for some reason. My best guess is that the club needs to improve the pitching mechanics of their players in the Minors.
If indeed this is the problem, it may be time to better educate the Minor League pitching coaches as to the mechanics of pitching and bring Dr. Andrews' team in for some consultation, they know all about it.