BALTIMORE - A’s had hinted since Sean Manaea went on the disabled list two weeks ago that the left-hander probably would not return this season and Tuesday, it became official: Manaea, who leads the team with 12 wins, will have arthroscopic shoulder surgery on Sept. 19.
Dr. Neal ElAttrache, one of the most sought-after orthopedic surgeons in pro sports, will perform the procedure in Los Angeles and the team will have more information about Manaea’s prognosis after the surgery.
Shoulder surgery is much more tricky than ulnar collateral ligament repairs (Tommy John surgery), and shoulder injuries do not have the same roughly 80 percent recovery rate that UCL repairs enjoy; a study in 2011 put the chances of returning to the big leagues after shoulder surgery at 56 percent, although the numbers are difficult to calculate accurately because of the wide range of surgical possibilities.