Nick Markakis "leaning towards" neck surgery immediately after signing with Braves

On the same day the Braves introduced their new outfielder, Nick Markakis, a report surfaced that Markakis was leaning towards surgery to repair a bulging disc in his neck. Wait, what? It's almost like there is probably a reason why the Orioles were suddenly unwilling to sign him to a four-year contract. The report came from Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports.

The timing is nothing short of hilarious. The ink is barely dry and he's already probably headed towards surgery. Rosenthal adds that the Braves are "confident" that Markakis will be ready for Opening Day after a 12 week recovery. To them I say good luck, because I remember how well he performed the last time he had offseason surgery.

Of course, maybe it will turn out that this nagging neck injury has been responsible for whatever deficiencies you or I might have found in Markakis' performance over the last couple of seasons and now that he's getting it fixed he'll go back to being whatever his 31-year-old body is now capable of being.

It's just not the Orioles' problem any more. Have fun with that, Braves.