HOUSTON – The Houston Astros are far from the only team to suffer pitching injuries in baseball, but after a week where three high-profile pitchers went down with elbow problems, both Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association released statements about the rash of injuries.
Cleveland Guardians ace Shane Bieber will need UCL reconstruction, the team announced. Florida Marlins super prospect Eury Perez will need Tommy John surgery, the Marlins announced this week. Atlanta Braves ace Spencer Strider has inflammation and will miss time with an elbow issue, the Braves announced.
Those are three examples from only the past few days, but Major League Baseball is missing pitchers like Gerrit Cole of the Yankees and Sandy Alcantara of the Marlins. Every single one of the past four AL Cy Young winners are on the injured list (Cole, Verlander, Robbie Ray, Bieber).
Justin Verlander is in the middle of a rehab assignment in Triple-A after coming into the season with shoulder inflammation. Although largely healthy throughout his soon-to-be Hall of Fame career, even Verlander needed Tommy John surgery in 2020, and missed almost all of the 2020 season and the whole 2021 season.
Verlander had a long and thoughtful response to the rash of pitcher injuries.
“I think the biggest thing is that the style of pitching has changed so much. You know, everybody’s throwing as hard as they possibly can, and, spinning the ball as hard as they possibly can. You know, it’s hard to deny those results, obviously. How can you? It’s a double-edged sword,” Verlander said.