Originally published Thursday, February 26, 2009 at 12:00 AM

Season might be over before it starts for Mariners' Ryan Feierabend

Left-hander has a ligament injury in his elbow and will be evaluated next week. He is likely to have surgery.

Seattle Times staff reporter

PEORIA, Ariz. — It was the day the Mariners took the field for their first baseball game of the year. But for 23-year-old left-handed pitcher Ryan Feierabend, his 2009 season might have ended before the game even began.

The Mariners revealed on Wednesday that Feierabend, expected to compete for a bullpen spot this spring, will likely undergo surgery on his left elbow next week in Los Angeles. Feierabend is to meet there next week with Dr. Lewis Yocum, who will determine the extent of the damage and decide whether surgery is the best course.

If that happens, Feierabend would undergo surgery March 4.

"It's a ligament injury," Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu said before his team took the field for a 4-3, 10-inning loss to the San Diego Padres in the annual charity game between the squads. "We don't know the extent of it, but it doesn't look good."

Feierabend had an MRI on the elbow after it was sore following a recent bullpen session. While the examination did not reveal a complete tear, any surgery could spell the end of the pitcher's season.

With so many left-handers in the rotation, Feierabend's only real hope of making the club was as a long reliever or situational lefty. One of the pitchers ahead of him, Ryan Rowland-Smith, who also might get bounced to the bullpen because of the lefty-clogged rotation, tossed two scoreless innings against the Padres.

Geoff Baker: 206-464-8286 or gbaker@seattletimes.com

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