Cubs Reliever Out Indefinitely After Surgery

The Chicago

Cubs released some unfortunate news on Wednesday.

The team announced that Cubs reliever Adbert Alzolay will undergo Tommy John Surgery and miss the remainder of the season. Alzolay is not expected to be ready to return to the major league club until some point after the beginning of the 2025 MLB season, if then.

After announcing the news, Cubs manager Craig Counsell did not mention a potential timeline for the reliever.

“He certainly made a big effort to come back and put a lot of work into trying to pitch this year, in the end, he tried and it was not possible to do it, so he’s gotta go get this fixed and go down the rehab route and get strong and ready to pitch again.”

Alzolay, 29, posted a 4.67 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, and 6.8 K/9 rate in 18 relief appearances this season. Given the timing of the injury, he is in jeopardy of missing the entire 2025 season. The average recovery time for Tommy John Surgery has been around 14 months for pitchers.

Alzolay is scheduled to undergo surgery in the coming days by Dr. Keith Meister a renowned orthopedic surgeon in Arlington, Texas who has specialized in Tommy John Surgeries over the years.

Alzolay broke out in the 2023 season for the Cubs as the team’s closer and opened 2024 in the same role. However, he struggled from the beginning of the season as he had five blown saves on the year before being placed on the injured list on June 2nd.

If recovery goes well we won't see Alzolay back on the mound until his age 30 season. The Cubs do have the reliever until control through the 2026 MLB Season.