Goodyear, Arizona- The off-season for Grant Dayton will be one of both apprehension and excitement. The left-handed pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers and his wife, Cori, are awaiting the birth of their first child as the exciting time is set for early December. Meanwhile, the 29-year old Dayton is also very uneasy regarding his return to baseball after undergoing the very invasive and complex “Tommy John Surgery” to repair the damage to the elbow of his throwing arm.

“Actually, I’m not scared at all about the recovery from the surgery as my surgeon knows what he’s doing and I want to come back healthy and strong,” said Dayton, from his home in Goodyear, AZ., which is near the site of the Dodgers’ training camp complex in Glendale. “It’s hard to grasp what’s really going on.”

The former Bob Jones and Auburn University pitcher had 29 appearances for the Major League Baseball’s Dodgers where he posted a 1-1 record with 20 strikeouts in 23 innings of action. That followed 25 appearances with 39 strikeouts in 2016. He would have more playing time this season, if not for three different stints of the team’s disabled list. Two of those DL spots were for a neck strain and stiffness with the third for an intercostal strain located in his ribs.

Dayton was preparing for a scheduled one inning pitching rotation before a minor league outing in Tulsa. In his last bullpen pitch prior to stepping to the pitcher’s mound, he felt something pop in his pitching elbow. He wasn’t sure what it was and made his way to the mound for the National Anthem.

“Upon my first official warm-up pitch I couldn’t throw the ball,” said Dayton. “When I felt my elbow pop there was very little pain, but my arm felt warm. The MRI of my elbow showed the ulnar collateral ligament had trauma long ago and overtime could not hold up to the wear I’ve put it through.”

Within two weeks of the injury Dayton underwent surgery from the team surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache. Dayton added, “I didn’t feel any elbow pain until that pitch in the game prep, but the UCL was in bad shape. I had to rehab my arm during one of the DL spots and may have rushed my return. The results of this test were bad as I could not perform at the level I need for ‘the show’.”

The surgery lasted for three and a half hours and included ligament repair, removal of bone chips and the surgically filing down the bone of the elbow. It was also determined the ligament was shorter than normal. Dayton will now undergo 12-16 months of rehabilitation and will miss the remainder of this season and all of 2018.

“Clearing out my locker at Dodger Stadium was very emotional, but is part of the process of professional baseball,” said Dayton, son of Clay Dayton and Janis Tangeeman both of Madison.

He was an All-State pitcher in his senior year at Bob Jones in 2006. At Auburn, he was the staff ace and was drafted in the 11^th round of the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft by the Florida Marlins. In 2013 he underwent surgery for a stress fracture in his pitching elbow, which was a precursor of what was to come for the 6-foot-2, 215-pound professional athlete. His contract was picked up by the Dodgers and was called up to the big league team on July 21, 2016.

Dayton will receive his full pay through his rehabilitation as Cori has stopped her work as a veterinarian in advance of their child’s December birth. The Players Union has made sure athletes in the position of Dayton are taken care of until its determined if he can play again. The layoff will be long and could be difficult to handle mentally as the desire of any professional athlete is to play and to play hard. Anytime away from the game is hurtful and aggravating.

“My season is over and is hard to swallow as we are in first place in the standings of the National League West Division and the playoffs are just around the corner,” said Dayton. “I’ll have to watch my team play on TV like other Dodgers’ fans.”

Dayton is quick to thank all of the people who reached out to support him during this very difficult time. He added, “Even those people I didn’t know. Dodgers’ fans have been very supportive and I thank them.”

Now, he and his wife will sit and watch the Dodgers from different seats than what they are accustomed to with the knowledge Dayton will make his way back to the baseball diamond after the excitement of having a new addition to the family.