When Will Homer Bailey Return?

March 31, 2016

To read the entire story covering the recuperation of Homer Bailey, written by C. Trent Rosecrans as featured on Cincinnati.com, please click here.

Early May will mark Reds pitcher Homer Bailey’s return to the major league mound. That is, if everything goes according to plan. Bailey had an ulnar collateral ligament replacement in May of 2015. Recovery time for a professional athlete is usually about a year, and, according to the team’s manager, Bryan Price, Bailey is exceeding expectations.

The surgery was performed by Reds Medical Director Dr. Timothy Kremchek. As a founding partner of Cincinnati-based sports medicine provider Beacon Orthopaedics, Dr. Kremchek is a pioneer of the now famous Tommy John procedure. In fact, he has performed close to 3,000 of the surgeries. It’s no wonder the Reds trusted Dr. Kremchek with Bailey’s $86 million arm.

Bailey will begin pitching in some minor-league games over the next couple of weeks. Pending how he feels after starting to work his way up, Bailey could be back on the mound in May. Since the surgery, the pitcher is no longer feeling pain in his elbow. Some of his progress is from taking things slowly, but much of it is due to close monitoring by his cutting edge medical team.

“We look at the ultrasound, fatigue, mechanics, how he’s long-tossing, how he looks on the mound, has he had any changes in his mechanics at all,” Kremchek explained. “What is his command? His arm slot?”

The right handed pitcher did a lot of research before deciding on Tommy John surgery from Dr. Kremchek of Beacon Orthopaedics. He collected opinions and suggestions from other players who underwent the same operation, looking for insights on rehab and recovery benchmarks.

The research he did ahead of time is bolstering Bailey’s confidence in his progress. When asked about how he felt, Bailey summarized, “You throw enough baseballs, you know, you know when you don’t feel good, you know when you feel like you can throw. From the very first day, I knew I could throw.”

We’re looking forward to watching Homer Bailey grace the mound in a Reds uniform once again.