TODAY: Unsurprisingly, Alcantara confirmed today that he won’t pitch again in 2023. “That’s the thing that broke my heart. I won’t be able to go out there with my teammates and compete….Hopefully we make it to the playoffs without me. [I’ve] just gotta be here and support them,” Alcantara told Jordan McPherson and Andre C. Fernandez of the Miami Herald.
The Cy Young Award winner said that he and his agent haven’t yet met with Marlins management to discuss what’s next, whether that’s more rehab or whether or not Alcantara might require some kind of surgery.
SEPTEMBER 22: Defending NL Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara has been on the injured list since September 6. He was diagnosed with a sprain in the UCL of his throwing elbow last week but had still been attempting to make it back for the team’s playoff push.
Alcantara made a rehab outing with Triple-A Jacksonville last night. He got through four scoreless innings but informed the team after the game that he’d experienced renewed forearm tightness (relayed by Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald). He’ll likely be pulled off his rehab stint and rejoin the team this weekend while remaining on the IL.
The club hasn’t announced a timetable or the next steps in Alcantara’s recovery. They’ll surely proceed with caution with the star right-hander, which raises the question of whether they could decide to shut him down for the season. While Alcantara and the team clearly hoped he’d be able to pitch through the injury, the diagnosis of a UCL sprain inherently means there’s some degree of stretching or tearing in that ligament.
Alcantara hasn’t replicated last year’s success, when he threw an MLB-high 228 2/3 innings with a sterling 2.28 ERA. He has still been an effective rotation member for the Fish, allowing 4.14 earned runs per nine across 184 2/3 frames. Alcantara owns a 3.20 ERA since the All-Star Break while averaging nearly 6 2/3 innings per start.
Miami has been without Trevor Rogers for the majority of the season. They’re relying on Jesús Luzardo, Braxton Garrett, highly-touted rookie Eury Pérez and Edward Cabrera in the rotation. They turned to a bullpen game for the final spot in today’s series opener with the Brewers. That hasn’t worked, with Steven Okert and Bryan Hoeing tagged for a combined 12 runs before getting out of the second inning.
A loss tonight will drop the Fish a game behind the Cubs for the last Wild Card spot in the National League. The Reds could jump a half-game ahead of Miami if they beat the Pirates. Miami will turn to Luzardo and Cabrera for the final two games against the Brew Crew. They’re off on Monday before finishing their season with road games in six consecutive days against the Mets and Pirates.
TJ surgery is days away.
Maybe not, but safer to shut him down for the year
Yeah I thought he was a work horse too… 228 innings pitched, the most by anyone in the NL cy young standing for that year by almost 20 IP? 200 Is the max if you value your pitchers health? 20 more IP? that’s 4 more regular season starts by Blake Snells standards? Which seems to be the new standard?
Has any pitcher with a strained UCL or sore UCL or stretched or partially torn UCL had it heal with rest? It seems to me from the time a pitcher has forearm tightness tjs is inevitable no matter how many second or third opinions they get.
Masahiro Tanaka pitched 4 or 5 years after he opted against surgery following his diagnosis
Tanaka was hugely undervalued? Great playoff pitcher
Miles Mikolas also had a PRP injection back in like February of 2021 for forearm soreness? Been good to go since. He had a flexor strain which is quite different from UCL. They’re related, but not the same?
Forearm tightness has been a common injury this year. Justin Steele went on the IL for a few weeks and came back without issue (last couple starts not withstanding). Miles Mikolas had it in ST, seems to be good. But Jacob DeGrom went on to TJS.
@avenger65,
Aaron Nola finished the 2016 season on the IL with a sprain of his UCL and flexor tendon. He never had surgery, and he’s the only pitcher I can think of in this category.
?
It’s tough when you’re someone great and injury belittles and humbles you? Aye aye aye… even worse when it’s your own mind shutting you out? Flatliner…. Then you get to pull the Adam Wainwright for all of 2011? And if your truly great we will see you throw a strike from the outfield wall to 3rd base? Take that yips
How do you get rid of the pressure of starting game one in front of 50,000 people at age 20? Do it in Game one of course? You’ll be fine kid!!! Breaknecks
Nitpick: Wrong Eury Perez BR page link
Where did superstar prospect Javier Wander go?
See ya in 2025 Sandy
Of course he did. Not that it makes all that much of a difference, but the Marlins letting him get back up to full intensity so quickly after the the symptoms he had is just straight up malpractice.
Yanks fan but pulling for a healthy SA here. Love his attitude and work ethic on the mound.
Why would you even risk this Marlins. I put this on Ng. Shameful.
he probably said, “But I want to pitch, daddy!” knowing all of his risks.
You mean mommy.
deuteronomy 22 5
Kim Ng is not a medical doctor last time i checked assuming the actual doctors cleared him how is this on her?..the only shameful thing is your statement placing blame on her or anyone..injuries happen suck it up
Don’t you know we will judge angels? And if this is so, we can surely judge everyday matters
Because if Fat Bottomed girls make the Rockn world go round then why was Freddy gay?
But hey at least you tried, when you get fired from your gig as a music teacher, just blame Lululemon? Or AIDS? Maybe a bicycle race or Biwinning? Just don’t blame your mom? Someone might call you bi polar and that’ll make you sound more like George Carlin than Charlie Sheen NG make you only 1 and a half men instead of just a half a one with the other being gender confused or what have you in all your politically correct glory?
Got Ashton looking like Nixon
Well that’s not good. I’m expecting the same fate for Alzolay.
I think Alzolay will dodge TJ. But I do think the Cubs need to shut him down for the year. I think they should have passed on today’s bullpen session.
by RotoWire Staff
(8 hrs ago) Alzolay (forearm) will throw a touch-and-feel bullpen session Friday, Bruce Levine of 670TheScore.com reports.
While not a regular bullpen session, Alzolay getting on a mound in any fashion still looks to be a notable step forward. The Cubs’ closer is working his way back from a right forearm strain and is still hopeful he can make it back before the end of the regular season. Alzolay is eligible for activation Sept. 26, although he could need a little more time than that even if all goes well.
Mr. Alcantara, you’ll need to get in that line over there – the long one. Dr Tommy John will see you in about 2 hours.
Tommy John was a ball player?
What are they teaching you kids in school these days? Economics? If so how many million was France in debt before the revolution? How much is USA right now?
*whistling* nothing to see here folks move it along, and you Homer, BACK TO WORK!
Hate to see it. Hope he just gets the surgery done and not the injection that would just delay the surgery
Anyone throwing 95+ is bound to go under the knife at some point. Guys like Cole or Jon Lester that throw hard and pitch at a high level their entire career and avoid TJS are very rare.
Teams act like restricting young pitchers’ innings when they come up will reduce risk for tearing their UCL, which I guess, sure – less pitching = less risk, but I’m also less likely to get in a car accident if I drive less.
At the end of the day, it comes down to the biomechanics, and the human body wasn’t built to throw 95+ for 100 pitches every 5 days (or at all for that matter).
I don’t really understand the “We can’t let this 20 year old throw 150 innings in his first full season.” I don’t know about you, but when I was 20, I recovered a whole hell of a lot faster than I do now at 34. I think a lot of these teams have it backwards. If you know the surgery is inevitable, let these guys pitch while they are young and resilient, they’ll get their surgery, come back and do it all over again. Their careers might end up at 32-34 instead of 36-38, because many would have to decide between retirement or a second TJS, but most pitchers aren’t all that effective from 36-38 anyway.
True, you are safer if you stay under 65 mph in a car or on the mound.
What in the world is going on here? He needs surgery – get it done!
My name is John. Tommy John.
RIP
Complete UCL tear: get TJS
Partial UCL tear: clock’s ticking for TJS
UCL strain: it’ll tear eventually
no structural damage: just a matter of time
Any numbers yet on how many TJs this season as a whole ? I’m curious because there hasn’t been mention of the clock in quite some time.
Or just arm injuries in general. I still think the clock adds to stress on the arm with less rest in between pitches and working the count and hitter etc. All the little things we don’t see. With the clock and mph a necessity nowadays and fitness and strength, throw throw throw every 15-20 seconds to me is way more stressful in the throwing motion.
Also I wonder if they keep track of the arm injuries in general and breakdown of types. By seasons. To see if those numbers have risen upwards. Curious of pre pitch clock numbers as well.
It sounds like he’s done. You really have to wonder what Miami’s medical and FO staff were thinking? At best they might back door in the playoffs and then get bounced early so they take their top player who earns the highest salary on the team and let him pitch with a ucl injury. The same injury that is a precursor to tjs. This is why this franchise is such a joke. The constant mismanagement. I hope for Alcantara’s sake he’s ok but he doesn’t sound it.
Can only wonder if the Fish would already be ahead of others in the WC race had they not demoted Perez mid-season to manage his workload.
However, while at AAA Perez still pitched. So that’s puzzling. Couldn’t they have managed his innings in the majors just the same?
Might have a few more Ws if they had they him pitch up here rather than down there.
Exactly, still pitched back in minors, just govern his innings @MLB level w/world class cchs helpn em along, even if u capd em @4inns an outing he’d helped em shorten gms, kid had lights out stats when they sent em back just2 pitch meaningless inns on farm, SA is bulldog w/ol skool bulldog mentality he’s probably 1 who really wanted him 2comeback 4late season run n chance @playoffs, only player, FO, n Drs kno what MRIs show n how serious injury may be, wrong 2place blame n Ng4 injuries but u can question sending Eury dwn in middle of season
Your paragraph runs on more than Acuna has this season.
Very witty. And you came up w/it so fast. U must B frm rural Georgia.
Not witty, just an observation. Take a breath.
> had they not demoted Perez mid-season
Doesn’t matter. He injured his Sports Illustrated joint.
In a corresponding move, right-hander Eury Perez has been placed on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to September 21) with left SI joint inflammation.
TJ
So tired of losing our biggest stars to this fiend. Lawyers should sue Tommy John.
Alcantara must have an agent. They should know this.
Any jamoke can call 1-800-8-Billion and sue mesothelioma, Big Tobacco and even backyard weed spay. Why not sue Tommy John? His name is all over the misery and pain suffered by countless adults and youths, many who look up to a Sandy Alcantara.
Any sitting jury would see the obvious liability of Tommy John. He is so guilty.
With all that smoke you know there must be a big money fire someplace, and I know right where to find it. Tommy John. Some smart cookie lawyer will tell a jury that no one ever heard of Tommy John Surgery until the defendant showed up. Boom.
MLB Trade Rumors—
The place you go when all you have is a keyboard and a dream.
He obviously pitches too much
Lead the league in CG in 2019
Lead the league in starts in 2021
Lead the league in innings in 2022
They need to baby pitchers more to keep their arms in good shape.
/S
Seems like every thread about a pitcher getting injured a certain type of commenter comes out of the woodwork to talk about how modern pitchers are “sissies” or whatever. Where are they here?
You make great points. Leads the league in innings, forearm tightens up.
The posts about modern day pitchers being babied too much, leave out the part where Koufax arm stopped functioning and how modern guys throw much harder than previous generations.
It’s too bad, He really turned his season around.
Had they traded him when I suggested they trade him, this would have been someone else’s problem and the haul they would have gotten in return would have them sitting comfortably in the wildcard lead.
Nope. They decided they knew more, and their plan was better. Now they’re stuck with a pitcher who was already showing signs of slowdown and early onset dementia
Thank God you’re not Miami’s GM. Lord knows that fanbase can’t take another franchise superstar being shipped out
Stop with the rest. I’m no weathermotologist but I can’t recall one single case where TJS was prevented with rest. It’s either gonna pop or it isn’t…..a years rest just puts the inevitable a year behind. Pitch and be a man and find out whether it’s a problem or not or be a cuck and find out if rest does the trick.
Marlins, in spite of being in the playoffs run, are trying to not exacerbate Alcantara’s injury. He’s on an extremely team-friendly contract for a low-payroll org. It’s a long-term decision.
To refresh your memory, Masahiro Tanaka had a partial UCL tear and the Yankees shut him down for a few months in-season for rehab and then went on to pitch for years avoiding surgery.
Yeah that’s true but was Tanaka ever the same? If you remember that first half season he had before the ucl injury he had an overpowering fastball to go along with that split. After the rehab he was 91-93 topping out at 95. It made him a different pitcher. He was effective not dominant. He should have had the surgery. Yes I give him credit for toughing it out and the fact it happened so early in the contract that I think Tanaka was out to prove he was worth the big money. I loved him. Just wondering what he could have been had he not got hurt or got the ucl fixed.
You’re absolutely correct with everything you said about Tanaka. I also thought he should have had the TJS right when the injury originally happened. Bc he was never the same dominant pitcher again after he decided against the TJS. His FB was consistently mid-upper 90’s before injury, then sat around 92-94mph the rest of his career with the Yankees. Credit to Tanaka though, even with the loss in velocity he still managed to have a very solid/successful career.
Darn, I was pulling for him. Lol