Ben Sheets missed all of 2009 after undergoing surgery in February to repair a torn flexor tendon in his right arm, but a member of Sheets' camp said he is participating in a flat-ground throwing program and is planning to be "more than ready to go" when the 2010 season begins. If that is the case, Sheets could draw some serious action on this winter's free-agent market. Sheets worked much of the second half of the 2008 season with elbow pain and only revealed the torn flexor tendon in October, when he was left off Milwaukee's postseason roster. At the time, the medical prognosis was that with rest and exercise and rehab Sheets would recover. The team was so comfortable with that diagnosis that it extended a Dec. 2 offer of arbitration to Sheets, who was free agent-eligible for the first time in his career. Had Sheets accepted that offer, he would have been considered a signed player for 2009 at a salary to be determined, almost certainly higher than the $11 million he earned in 2008 when he finished 13-9 with a 3.09 ERA in 31 starts and started the All-Star Game for the National League. But Sheets declined, opting instead to enter the market.