Miami Marlins right-hander Eury Pérez will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the remainder of the 2024 season, the team announced on Thursday. Teams these days tend to grant their pitchers about 14 months of recovery time, suggesting that he's unlikely to appear in a big-league game again prior to some point during June 2025.
Pérez, who turns 21 on April 15, had been sidelined by elbow discomfort for the last several weeks. He made his big-league debut last year, appearing 19 times and amassing a 3.15 ERA (142 ERA+) and a 3.48 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 91 innings. Pérez ended up finishing seventh in National League Rookie of the Year Award voting.
Pérez seemed like a strong candidate to emerge as Miami's next homegrown ace thanks to an arsenal that includes an upper-90s four-seam fastball and a pair of swing-and-miss breaking balls.
It's worth noting that the Marlins had treated Pérez in a conservative manner, even sending him to the minors for a period last year so that they could better manage his workload increase. In the end, it didn't matter -- at least not to the extent that it will prevent him from undergoing elbow surgery.
The Marlins have started the season 0-7, becoming the first ever reigning playoff team to begin the ensuing season in such a dismal manner. Pérez is one of several pitchers on their injured list, including ace Sandy Alcantara (also shelved for the year following his own Tommy John surgery), Edward Cabrera, and Braxton Garrett.
Miami did shake up its pitching staff on Thursday, designating lefty Kent Emanuel for assignment and purchasing the contract of right-hander Matt Andriese from their Triple-A affiliate in Jacksonville
