Dr. James Andrews performed labrum surgery on Jose Ascanio this morning, the Post-Gazette reports. Ascanio's injury was initially diagnosed as tendinitis and the Pirates had him throwing side sessions with the hope that he'd return in the last week of the season, but we should have known another shoe was going to drop when the Pirates moved him to the 60-day DL last week.
Torn labrums are awful injuries for pitchers, and while the prospects of pitchers who undergo labrum surgery have improved in the past five years or so, it's still a very difficult injury to come back from. All the best to Ascanio in his recovery.
The John Grabow / Tom Gorzelanny deal has gone south quickly. Kevin Hart has mostly pitched poorly, Ascanio is now out, and the third player acquired in the trade, minor league infielder Josh Harrison, posted a .650 OPS at Lynchburg after he arrived. Meanwhile, Grabow has been useful for the Cubs, and Gorzelanny has struck out a batter an inning for them. The Pirates essentially gave up on Gorzelanny in Spring Training this year, but the early indications are that doing so might have been premature.