Tejay Antone to have surgery on elbow, continuing an unfortunate trend in MLB
Last year, as Cincinnati Reds reliever Tejay Antone returned from his second elbow surgery, he changed who he was as a pitcher.
After having Tommy John surgery in 2017 and again in 2021, he went from throwing 100 mph fastballs to throwing 92 mph sinkers, put less emphasis on velocity and put even more care into his routine.
Despite those precautions, Antone threw one pitch that ended his season on Sunday. After a tendon in his elbow tore off the bone and Antone tore another ligament, he’ll get the third season-ending surgery of his career. He's scheduled for surgery on Friday.
Antone became the latest pitcher to suffer an elbow injury in the first two weeks of the season. Star pitchers Eury Perez, Shane Bieber and Spencer Strider headline a growing group of pitchers who have gone on the injured list this year with elbow injuries.
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The MLB Players Association has issued a statement citing “significant concerns regarding health and safety,” and the MLBPA stressed the impact that the pitch clock is having on pitchers. The league responded with a statement that pointed toward increased velocity and higher spin rates as factors that are leading to more injuries.
“It’s been an epidemic for a long time,” Reds pitching coach Derek Johnson said. “If I had the answer to fix it, I’d be a zillionaire. We spend a lot of time looking at as much scientific evidence as we can for best practices in arm care. It’s a very, very big part of all of our pitchers’ day. It’s constant. You’re on it as much as you can. You also understand that injuries happen. You can’t prevent all of them.”
Johnson said that elbow injuries typically occur in waves. One of those waves, he said is at the start of the season.
As Johnson spoke about elbow injuries in baseball before Monday’s game, most of the Reds pitchers were in the outfield or in the bullpen going through their arm care routines. Each pitcher has a specialized program in an effort to keep their elbows strong, but no plan can completely prevent arm injuries.
Reds pitchers Hunter Greene and Alexis Díaz had Tommy John surgery when they were prospects. Over the last few years, Reds pitchers Connor Overton, Reiver Sanmartin, Vladimir Gutierrez and Antone have all had elbow surgeries that ended their seasons.
“We’ve done everything under the sun,” Johnson said. “We’ve limited throws. We’ve limited innings. We’ve done all kinds of things. Limiting doesn’t really seem to capture the problem.”
Reds reliever Emilio Pagán has pitched for six teams and seen six different approaches toward protecting pitchers from injuries. He said a key component is customizing plans for different pitchers.
“It’s got to be 100% individualized to what someone’s body needs,” Pagán said. “As similar as we all are, there’s stuff in every one of us that makes us different.”
Pagán, who has made the 13th most appearances in MLB over the last eight years, focuses on strengthening his biceps, triceps, pecs and forearm muscles.
“The big muscles in my arm protect my smaller muscles,” Pagán said. “For me, it works. It may not work for everyone. There are a ton of philosophies. Guys stay healthy by doing different things. That’s just what I focus on. But this conversation could go forever and ever.”
Pagán acknowledged the “spurt of guys getting hurt recently,” and this trend has significantly changed MLB.
There are five former Cy Young winners on the injured list, including Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Jacob deGrom, Gerrit Cole, Sandy Alcantara and Bieber. Strider was a Cy Young Award favorite for this year. Shohei Ohtani also won’t pitch this year after having surgery on his elbow.
“We all have to take a look and ask what’s the safest way, if there is one, to pursue this,” Johnson said. “We haven’t found it.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Reds' Tejay Antone's elbow surgery is part of MLB trend
