Pirates Pitcher To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

After battling elbow and forearm problems all the way back to spring training, Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Max Kranick has now succumbed to Tommy John surgery.

Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the surgery took place on Friday.

The 24-year-old was only able to appear in two games this season, after making his MLB debut last year. He had a rough indoctrination to the bigs, making nine starts for the Pirates last season, going 2-3 with a 6.28 ERA in 38 2/3 innings, with an equally unimpressive 32:19 K:BB ratio.

But things turned from bad to worse this year when he reported to spring training complaining of "persistent" right elbow/forearm pain. He was sent to Triple-A to try to work his way out of it.

He was only able to start three games in the minors before being shut down again. Now his 2022 season is over, and according to Mackey, based on the long recovery period for TJ surgery, his 2023 is in jeopardy as well.

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