Brutal Day For Orioles Who Lose Not One, But TWO Pitchers To Elbow Surgery

Tough day to be a Baltimore Orioles pitcher. The team has announced that both John Means and Tyler Wells will be undergoing elbow surgeries to repair their ulnar collateral ligaments and are done for the year.

O’s GM @MElias delivers the news that pitchers John Means & Tyler Wells are out for the rest of the season, both need elbow surgery. @wjz at Camden Yards 5/6pm ⚾️ @WJZ13sports pic.twitter.com/RTSq1pNCRq
— Mark Viviano (@MarkWJZ) May 31, 2024

General manager Mike Elias announced the double-whammy on Friday afternoon. There's no official word if either will be undergoing Tommy John surgery or the somewhat less serious internal brace repair. Either way, it's a terrible blow to Baltimore's rotation depth for 2024.

For Means, the development could be much more serious than a year off; he only just returned last September after a 2022 Tommy John surgery, and has only been back for four starts this season, his last outing coming nine days ago when he lasted just three innings against the St. Louis Cardinals. He was already experiencing elbow soreness before this season began, and sat out the month of April. At 31 years old, there's no telling what comes next for Means.

In three full seasons with the O's, from 2019 through 2021, he was an All-Star and top-of-the-rotation arm, in 78 career games overall putting up a 3.62 ERA with a 1.05 WHIP.

Wells, 29, only made three starts at the beginning of the season before landing on the injured list with elbow inflammation. He's been used as both a starter and reliever fo the O's over the past few years, but mainly a starter of late, compiling a combined 4.06 ERA and a solid 1.04 WHIP with exceptional control.

It's likely that the Orioles will be looking to the trade or free agent market to try to find some pitching depth as we get farther in the summer months and approach the trade deadline.