Many know the nickname, "The Mexicutioner" being Manny Pacquiao, but in Kansas City, Missouri, that nickname belongs to closer Joakim Soria. Soria just returned from a visit in Los Angeles to see a specialist and was told the he has damage to the ulnar collateral ligament. What exactly does that mean? It means that Soria's biggest option to return to baseball is Tommy John surgery. The right-handed pitcher stated that he would speak to his family in Arizona before ultimately deciding what to do, but surgery is most likely the answer. With Tommy John surgery, Soria would be knocked out of the entire 2012 season just as he missed the 2003 season with the same surgery. How exactly do you have Tommy John surgery twice? Well apparently the same problem arises and once again the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) needs to be repaired. Losing Soria would be a great loss to the Royal's bullpen, mainly because he has been known to be such a great leader to a relatively young group a pitchers. And without him, the Royals will be forced to have a "closer by committee" set up in which Jonathan Broxton, Greg Holland, and Aaron Crow will be the frontrunners for the job. People don't realize just how important Joakim Soria is, the 27 year-old closer averages 37 saves a season, those numbers are similar to closers like Jonathan Papelbon and Brian Wilson. Soria unfortunately had one of the worst seasons this year in terms of saves with only 28, with missing time in May and also the last two and a half weeks of the season. In the 2012 season, "The Mexicutioner" had 43 saves, and the Royals had 67 wins, meaning that Soria saved 65% of the Royals wins. He finished second in saves that year, only behind Rafael Soriano with 45. Hopefully Joakim Soria can recover from his almost inevitable Tommy John surgery and come back healthy in the 2013 season. But as of right now, the Royals are just waiting to see what Soria wants to do.
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