Reds left-hander Brandon Williamson has knowledgeable reporters that he has a full tear of his ulnar collateral ligament and would require Tommy John surgical procedure. He’ll miss the rest of this season and sure all of 2025 as effectively. Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer was amongst those that relayed the message on X.
The information is disappointing however not shocking. Williamson had clearly damage his arm throughout final night time’s recreation, as seen in video relayed on X by Pitching Ninja. The membership later introduced that he had suffered an elbow pressure. Additional testing has rapidly revealed a ligament 12 months, which can power Williamson to go underneath the knife.
It’s one other irritating improvement for the lefty, who hasn’t been capable of construct off his stable debut in 2023. He made 23 begins for the Reds final 12 months, logging 117 innings with 4.46 earned runs allowed per 9. He struck out 20% of batters confronted and restricted walks to a 7.9% clip.
Ideally, he would have taken a step ahead in 2024, however he by no means actually bought the prospect. He started the season on the injured listing because of a left shoulder pressure and didn’t make it again to the lively roster till September 1. He made simply 4 appearances earlier than struggling this elbow harm, making it principally a misplaced season. Given the calendar, 2025 is nearly actually going to be a complete wash, as restoration from Tommy John surgical procedure usually takes 14 months or extra.
Williamson is now 26 however he’ll flip 28 in April of 2026, when he might be an element for the Reds once more. He needs to be transferred to the 60-day IL each time the Reds want his roster spot, however there’s no IL within the offseason. Assuming he hangs onto his roster spot by the winter, he’ll spend 2025 on the IL as effectively, amassing main league pay and repair time. If he does certainly stick on the roster by the 2025 season, he would have two years and 139 days of service time, placing him in line to qualify for arbitration as a Tremendous Two participant.
For the Reds, they may have one fewer choice for constructing their 2025 rotation. On paper, they’ve a stable group that features Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Andrew Abbott, Graham Ashcraft, Christian Roa, Nick Martinez, Rhett Lowder and Julian Aguiar, although most of these guys have spent vital time on the IL this 12 months, which performed an enormous position in Cincinnati’s disappointing season. Naturally, the membership might be hoping for higher well being subsequent 12 months however one domino has already fallen together with his Williamson information. Martinez may additionally choose out of his contract, one thing that MLBTR’s Anthony Franco not too long ago explored in a chunk for Entrance Workplace subscribers.