The left elbow of Jason Vargas resembled a time bomb to the Royals front office in recent weeks. The clock ticked as Vargas attempted, for the second time in 2015, to rehabilitate the strained flexor muscle around the joint in June and July. Time ran out just past 7:35 p.m. on Tuesday, when Vargas felt his ulnar collateral ligament sunder from the stress of pitching.
An MRI on Wednesday confirmed Kansas City’s fears. The torn ligament will require Tommy John surgery, manager Ned Yost said, which could prevent Vargas from pitching for the team until 2017. The injury wounded the Royals, but general manager Dayton Moore framed it as a contingency they predicted.