Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Drey Jameson to undergo Tommy John surgery
Diamondbacks right-hander Drey Jameson has decided to undergo Tommy John surgery, manager Torey Lovullo said, a procedure that could keep him out of action until 2025.
Jameson, 26, posted a 3.32 ERA in 40 2/3 innings as a rookie this season. He bounced between Triple-A Reno and the majors and between starting and relieving.
Lovullo said he was unsure when Jameson would have surgery. He also was not certain who was going to perform the procedure.
Jameson is widely viewed as having the most electric stuff of any starting pitcher in the Diamondbacks’ system, a repertoire fronted with a fastball that routinely sits in the mid-to-upper 90s.
His injury is a blow to the Diamondbacks’ starting pitching depth. Left-hander Tommy Henry also is out with elbow problems; he is trying to work his way back to the mound but is not expected to be ready before the end of the regular season.
Jameson, who has not pitched since July, tried to rest and rehab the injury, hoping to work his way back onto the mound before the end of the year. Given that Tommy John surgery, in which the ulnar collateral ligament in the elbow is repaired, typically sidelines pitchers for between 12-18 months, he likely did not cost himself much time on the back end by seeing if he could avoid the surgery.
Jameson had been encouraged by the way he felt playing catch in recent weeks but that changed once he started throwing bullpens.
“I think when he stepped onto a mound that he just felt like he had nothing behind the ball,” Lovullo said. “There was not a lot of power. I think the discomfort began at that point. That was the trigger for all of us that he should pull back, get reexamined and see what’s going on.”
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Lovullo said he appreciated Jameson’s attempt to make it back this year.
“If he was going to have Tommy John in July or August, he was going to miss the majority of the 2024 season anyway,” Lovullo said. “He felt like — and this is a championship mentality, as far as I’m concerned — he was going to full throttle it to try and get back for us to help us win baseball games this year and test it out.”
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Diamondbacks pitcher Drey Jameson to undergo Tommy John surgery
