Cory Luebke Finds Hope in Dbacks Hudson

The Padres and Diamondbacks are carefully watching each other these days.

Of course there is some mutuality of personnel, with former Padres GM Kevin Towers recently being canned as the Dbacks GM.

One of the many pitching injuries that hurt the Padres this year was a pitcher who hasn’t even pitched since 2012. Cory Luebke was hoping to pitch with the Padres by maybe the middle of this season, possibly in the bullpen by the end of the year after TJ Surgery last year.

Then, in spring training, before he barely even started his rehabilitation program, it was learned that he would have to undergo the surgery again.

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As Scott Miller writes, the Padres can find hope in Daniel Hudson‘s return for the D-backs after two similar surgeries. After Hudson completed his first inning of work in 799 days, he was mobbed in the dugout.

Baseball can be a cruel sport, and no happy endings are guaranteed. There is a reason people like the underdog stories. For every The Rookie and Million Dollar Arm there are thousands of unfulfilled dreams and broken lives.

Yet – it’s not too early to call it a comeback for Luebke. The youngster has shown dominance when healthy, and if he can come back for just part of 2015, it would be a major victory. In 2016, he would still just be 31-years-old. Still a lot of good pitching years left.

Maybe, just maybe, the Padres will get a chance to mob their returning lefty in about a year’s time. We are all rooting for it.