Worst-Case Scenario Confirmed for Adbert Alzolay

Absolutely heartbreaking for Cubs pitcher Adbert Alzolay, who will miss a significant amount of time as the right-hander is set to undergo Tommy John surgery to repair his pitching elbow.

The 29-year-old will obviously miss the rest of 2024 and with the timing of the elbow procedure it is likely that Alzolay will not be ready to pitch until the 2026 season.

The Cubs will most likely non-tender Alzolay this upcoming offseason and will probably try to re-sign him to a minor league deal to keep him in the organization. It's simply not feasible to keep Alzolay on the 40-man roster through the entire winter when you know he's not going to pitch in 2025.

(Previous Update)

This fucking blows. Adbert Alzolay is going to have some sort of surgery on his arm and there's a good chance that the longtime Cubs pitcher will be shutdown for a while well beyond the 2024 season. I say some sort of surgery because at this point the Cubs and their medical team aren't quite sure what type of procedure Alzolay needs.

Not good. Not good at all.

Alzolay was recently on a rehab assignment in July, first pitching in the Arizona Complex League and then in one game at Triple-A with the Iowa Cubs on July 27. That outing was rough, as Alzolay allowed two runs on two hits and two walks in one inning.

The right-handed pitcher was first placed on the injured list May 13, with a flexor strain. Alzolay is seeking a second opinion and a decision on a surgery will likely come next week.

The only silver lining in this recent development is that it could explain away Alzolay's struggles out of the bullpen to begin the 2024 season with the Cubs. Alzolay, who was a top-20 reliever in 2023, began this year as the team's closer, but was removed from the role in April.

Alzolay had a 4.67 ERA in 17.1 innings before he went on the injured list. The right-hander was hit hard, allowing six home runs in his 18 appearances after only giving up five home runs in 64 innings last season.

However, that's the least of Alzolay's problems now because at this point of the year any type of arm surgery is not only going to take him out for the rest of 2024, but it's very likely that he misses a big chunk of the 2025 season as well.

Alzolay, 29, has two more years left of arbitration before he can become a free agent. However, depending on his timetable to return, there's a likely scenario in which the Cubs non-tender him this offseason. Alzolay, who made his MLB debut in 2019, has been in the Cubs organization since he signed as an international free agent in 2013 out of Venezuela.