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Sprained elbow ligament for A’s Jharel Cotton; surgery a strong possibility

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Media: SFChronicle

MESA, Ariz. - Oakland’s rotation already was a major question mark going into the regular season, and now it appears the team will be without Jharel Cotton for a significant period of time.

The second-year right-hander had an MRI on Thursday and was diagnosed with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament - a torn UCL, in other words. Typically, ligament tears require Tommy John surgery, although some pitchers are now opting to rehab after stem-cell treatment, while others are pursing other forms of ligament-repair surgery besides the traditional UCL replacement.