Josh Edgin getting second opinion from James Andrews

Currently uncertain whether he’ll attempt rehab or opt for Tommy John surgery, Josh Edgin is seeking a second opinion on his injured elbow from Dr. James Andrews.

Edgin, who said on Tuesday that his entire arm was bothering him, has a stretched out ligament which is not torn.

Said Edgin to reporters including Adam Rubin of ESPN New York on Friday:

"The worst-case scenario is Tommy John surgery. I guess looking at that scenario, if I had to, I want to be ready for next year. … But if we’re seeing progress with the rehab, if we’re doing that, we might just go and see what happens. If it’s the worst-case scenario for Tommy John, I want to be back by April 1 of next year — the start of the season."

While speaking on Thursday morning, Sandy Alderson weighed in on Edgin’s injury:

"It’s not the ligament that’s the immediate problem, although it’s stretched and thin. It’s a tendinits. So there are two approaches: One is conservative and the other is potentially surgery."

Alderson went on to say that the outcome regarding Edgin should be made by the end of the month.

Edgin, 28, dealt with a bone spur issue last season, but posted a stellar 1.32 ERA and 0.91 WHIP in 27.1 innings (47 appearances).

Thoughts:

This isn’t the worst-case scenario for Josh Edgin and the Mets, but it’s pretty close.

While Edgin reportedly doesn’t immediately need surgery, his injury almost certainly means that he’ll open the season on the disabled list.

If Edgin is able to avoid surgery (a huge if) and return, it would still be impossible to count on him this season due to the fact that his elbow ligament has been compromised.

The Mets are not expected to add a lefty relief option from outside the organization, which would theoretically leave them to choose from a group consisting of Scott Rice (coming off surgery of his own), Rule 5 draftee Sean Gilmartin, Jack Leathersich (whose control issues are major), and/or Dario Alvarez (who barely has any experience above A-ball).

I wrote in November that with the lack of quality free agent lefty relief options this past offseason aside from Andrew Miller, the Mets should’ve looked to the trade market for a left-hander.

Perhaps the Mets did explore a trade for a lefty reliever, and perhaps they did consider bringing someone of substance in.

However, according to Kristie Ackert of the Daily News, citing a source, the Mets were confident in what they had as far as lefty relief, and their failure to upgrade was not due to money concerns.

Now, without Edgin, the Mets have a potential mess on their hands.