Indians pitcher Miller faces surgery

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) — Cleveland Indians reliever Adam Miller is facing career-threatening reconstructive finger surgery if he is unable to find a new way to pitch effectively.

Miller, who underwent surgery on his right middle finger last year, will spend the next seven to 10 days throwing to see if he can command his pitches without pain, Indians trainer Lonnie Soloff said Wednesday. If Miller can’t, he will have a procedure where a tendon will be taken from his wrist to reattach the tendon in his finger.

Soloff said the operation would cost Miller this season and perhaps end his career. Soloff said a build up of scar tissue could make it impossible to pitch. The surgery normally requires nine to 12 months of rehabilitation.

“The tragedy is he’s a great kid with great stuff,” Soloff said. “But this is an injury that is hard to prevent and hard to overcome. There’s no history for this kind of injury. I can tell you the outcome and success rates of ACL knee surgeries, or elbow surgeries. But there is no precedent for this.”

The hard-throwing 24-year-old Miller came to training camp with a chance to win a job in Cleveland’s bullpen. However, his finger has been swollen and stiff and he was shut down late last week.

“He had near normal velocity, but was unable to locate his pitches,” said Soloff, adding Miller’s injury affects both his velocity and command. “It’s the last finger that controls the baseball coming out of the pitcher’s hand. It’s the finger that helps him most control the pitch and also give it that last bit of giddy-up.”

Miller made just six starts last season before undergoing surgery in May. He was also limited to 65 innings in 2007 because of a strained ligament in the finger.

In 2006, he went 15-6 with a 2.75 ERA at Double-A Akron and was named the Indians’ minor league pitcher of the year.

The breakout convinced the Indians that Miller would one day pitch in their rotation or the back end of their bullpen. But injuries have slowed his career and may now end it.