Kansas City Royals left-hander Asa Lacy, the No. 4 pick in the 2020 draft, announced on Instagram Wednesday that he'll miss the upcoming season following Tommy John surgery. Teams nowadays generally give their pitchers about 14 months to recover from that procedure. As such, Lacy is unlikely to return to the mound until closer to summer 2025.
"I had a full UCL reconstruction and it went well. Thank you to Dr. ElAttrache and his staff for taking great care of me today," Lacy wrote in part. "I have been dealt a substantial amount of adversity in my career so this is another opportunity to grow as a player and a man. I'm determined to attack the challenges ahead and come back better and stronger."
Lacy, 24, has indeed dealt with his share of adversity since being selected by the Royals. In 29 professional appearances to date, he's amassed a career ERA over 7.00 and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 1.37. It's fair to write that's not the kind of performance that either Lacy or the Royals expected on draft night, when he was fresh from a breakout effort at Texas A&M that saw him master a swing-and-miss slider.
Lacy has also missed considerable time because of other injuries, including problems with his back. He talked to MLB.com's Anne Rogers about his rehab process earlier this spring.
"When I was rehabbing last summer, it was like, 'OK, how quick can I get out of here?'" Lacy said. "I probably did myself more harm than good with that mindset, even though it was with good intentions. I just want to pitch. I've talked to our entire pitching staff, our coaches, and told everyone, 'I want to feel ready before I get out of here.'"
Now, unfortunately, Lacy will be tasked again with rehabbing before he can attempt to place his career again on a positive trajectory.
