Joakim Soria undergoing Tommy John surgery

The Kansas City Royals bullpen took a big hit, because closer Joakim Soria opted to have Tommy John surgery. This won't be his first time under the knife as he had the surgery back in 2003 while he was in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization.      

Soria sought the opinion of three doctors before finally deciding that surgery was his best option.

Plans call for Dr. Lewis Yocum to perform the surgery April 3 in Los Angeles. The typical recovery period ranges from 10-14 months. 


Soria definitely will miss this season and will possibly miss the early part of the 2013 season.

Soria, 27, was one of baseball's best closers from 2008-10, but he had a down year last season. He closed 28 games in 35 chances with a 4.03 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 60 strikeouts in 60 1/3 innings. He looked like a good bounce-back candidate heading into this season. Instead, he'll have to hope for a good second half in 2013 before he hits free agency at the conclusion of that season.

This will hurt the back end of the Royals bullpen as Jonathan Broxton, Greg Holland, and Aaron Crow will have their roles shuffled with Soria out.  

Marion Barber calls it a career

The writing must've been on the wall for Chicago Bears running back Marion Barber after the Bears signed Michael Bush to be the backup to Matt Forte.

After a few subpar seasons Barber has decided to retire. There was no reason given and at age 28 it's pretty mysterious since he probably could've still been a productive short yardage/goal line back. But with his hard running style maybe his body took more of a pounding than any other back at that age.

He finished last season with 422 yards on 114 carries with six touchdowns.

"I want to thank everyone who gave me the opportunity to play, and I’m very thankful to have had the chance to suit up for two of the NFL’s most storied organizations,” Barber told Chicagobears.com.


"I want to thank everyone who helped me become a better player,” Barber said. “I owe a lot to a lot of coaches, and am also very grateful to the owners and organizations I played for. Last but not least, I want to thank the fans for the support and inspiration they gave me.”


For some reason I don't think this is the end for Barber. Injuries do happen and teams will be looking for a proven running back at some point. I'm sure his phone will be on during the season.