An offspeed pitch during a pre-spring training bullpen session effectively ended Alex Reyes’ season before it began.
The St. Louis Cardinals said Wednesday the 22-year-old right-hander will have Tommy John surgery to replace a ruptured elbow ligament in his pitching arm.
“I was throwing a side at home and I felt something different,” Reyes said. “It was just kind of a pain throughout my elbow that I hadn’t felt before.”
Reyes took a pre-spring training physical Tuesday, was sent for an MRI and received preliminary results that evening.
St. Louis forwarded the exam results to Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion.
“It sucks just to go through this and miss an entire season,” Reyes said, “but if those are things that have to happen to get back on the field at 100 percent, that’s what I have to do.”
Reyes made his major league debut last Aug. 9 and was 4-1 with a 1.57 ERA in five starts and seven relief appearances. His fastball averaged more than 97 mph.
“Every time we gave him an opportunity he impressed us, whether it was how he performed or how he responded,” St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. “There was a maturity. His stuff was pretty easy to see. You’re talking a pretty impressive package just all the way together.”
Adam Wainwright, Carlos Martinez and Lance Lynn are projected as the first three St. Louis starters, and Michael Wacha and Mike Leake were expected to battle Reyes for the final rotation spots.
Former closer Trevor Rosenthal could wind up in the rotation. Rosenthal came up through the minors as a hard-throwing starter before enjoying immediate bullpen success in the big leagues. He had four saves during the Cardinals’ 2013 playoff run that ended with a World Series loss to Boston.
Rosenthal had 93 saves over the next two seasons, then struggled with command and injuries last year. He lost closing role to Seung Hwan Oh.
Surgery for Rodriguez
Atlanta Braves infielder Sean Rodriguez had surgery to repair the rotator cuff in his left shoulder.
General manager John Coppolella said will miss an “indeterminate period of time.” Coppolella said the team “won’t rule him out for the year.” Rodriguez throws and hits right-handed.
Rodriguez, who agreed to an $11.5 million, two-year contract with Atlanta in November, hurt his shoulder when a vehicle he was driving was rammed by a stolen police car in Miami on Jan. 28. The driver of the stolen car was killed. Rodriquez’s wife Giselle and two of their children were hospitalized with injuries she said on her Twitter account were not life-threatening.
The Braves acquired second baseman Brandon Phillips from Cincinnati on Sunday.
Wood joins Royals
The Kansas City Royals signed left-handed pitcher Travis Wood to a two-year contract, with a mutual option for the 2019 season.
The deal is worth $12 million, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.
The 30-year-old Wood made a career-high 77 appearances with the Chicago Cubs last season, posting a 4-0 record and a 2.95 ERA. He held lefties to a .128 average.
A 2013 National League All-Star, Wood spent the last five seasons with the Cubs after arriving in a trade with Cincinnati in 2011. He owns a career record of 43-52 with a 4.00 ERA in 259 games (133 starts). Since transitioning to the bullpen in 2015, he’s 7-2 with a 2.95 ERA in 122 appearances.
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