J.B. Wendelken likely to undergo Tommy John Surgery, per Stiglich

As reported by Joe Stiglich, right handed reliever J.B. Wendelken may well be headed for Tommy John Surgery. He'll get a second opinion before undergoing the knife, but the first opinion is not reassuring.

JB Wendelken is getting a second opinion after MRI showed torn UCL.

— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) September 21, 2016

Wendelken was acquired over the winter in exchange for Brett Lawrie along side left handed starter Zach Erwin. In Nashville, Wendelken performed adequately, ending the year with a 4.11 ERA and 65 strikeouts in just 46 innings. The stuff showed itself in the high strikeout totals, but he never found his way in the bigs, putting up an ERA of 9.95 in 12.2 innings.

As noted many a time, the A's are headed for a roster crunch and with Wendelken likely out until 2018, it's unclear how he fits into the A's future plans.

Best wishes for J.B. Wendelken.

Sonny Gray to throw a simulated game

Sonny Gray is scheduled to throw a simulated game on Saturday, and the results of that will dictate whether or not he appears in a big league contest before the season is over.

After the disaster that has been 2016, I'm not exactly sure what the rush is to get Gray in front of big league hitters. That said, I'm not a doctor, I'm a guy who once used an inhaler incorrectly during a childhood asthma attack, so maybe don't worry about my thoughts too much.

Henderson Alvarez underwent shoulder surgery (again)

Righty Henderson Alvarez officially went under the knife for the second time in an effort to fix his right shoulder. As Stiglich notes, it's unclear whether Alvarez will return to pitching at all. Then there's this little nugget:

Tuesday's surgery included a biceps tenodesis, where the biceps tendon is reattached to the humerus bone in the arm.

Woof. Get better, Henderson.