Rays Prospect Shane Baz Needs Tommy John Surgery, Will Miss Entire 2023 Season

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays fully expect 23-year-old Shane Baz to be a mainstay in their starting rotation for years to come, but those dreams are going to be put on hold until 2024 at the earliest. Rays manager Kevin Cash said Saturday that Baz needs Tommy John surgery on his injured right elbow and will miss all of next season.

Baz went on the injured list in mid-July with a right elbow strain. He made six appearances from June 11 through July 10, missing the first two-plus month after having arthroscopic surgery to remove some loose bodies in his elbow. 

"Shane Baz will be getting Tommy John. He threw today (in the bullpen) and just did not respond,'' Cash said. "He'll go into next offseason probably at the mark where he's starting to build up a little bit. It gets a little tricky, because Shane's not going to play winter ball. We'll have to find innings for him to get built up.''

Doctors had hoped that rest might have helped with Baz after the July discomfort. He took several weeks away from throwing and did a lot of rehab work. But once he started a throwing program a few weeks ago, he never felt comfortable.

Baz, a Houston native, turned 23 in June and is one of the prized arms in the Rays' organization. He was called up in September of 2021 and was impressive during three outings in the big leagues, pitching 13 1/3 innings and allowing just three runs with 18 strikeouts.