Carl Pavano, known in The Post as the American Idle, is injured again — and in a truly bizarre fashion.
According to Fox Sports, the right-hander ruptured his spleen when he slipped and fell shoveling snow in his Vermont driveway. Pavano, 37, had been receiving some degree of free-agent interest from the Mets and Rockies, but the injury — expected to sideline him 6-8 weeks — likely hurt his chances. The Mets signed Shaun Marcum on Thursday to fill out their rotation.
Troy Renck of the Denver Post tweeted yesterday the Rockies “are out” regarding Pavano, citing an MLB source, but did not specifically say it was related to the injury.
Pavano’s 2012 season was cut short because of a sore right shoulder, an injury caused by a bone bruise. He struggled in 11 starts last season for the Twins, compiling a 6.00 ERA and 2-5 record. In 2011, his most recent healthy season, he had a 9-13 record, with career high in hits allowed (262) and a 4.30 ERA.
Yankees fans are familiar with Pavano’s injury history which included missing time with broken ribs in August 2006 after a car accident he was involved in while he was already rehabbing various injuries in Tampa.
Pavano spent four seasons in The Bronx, earning $28 million. But he made just 26 starts, 17 of those in 2005. He ended up missing all of that 2006 season.