It was announced that Blue Jays prospect Brandon Barriera will require left elbow surgery. He will likely be out for more than 10 months. The nature of the injury (Tommy John or internal brace) is unclear. Once surgery takes place, we will get a better idea. Barriera will be in an internal brace until surgery next week, so he appears to have suffered an elbow injury after throwing a pitch in Saturday’s game. After this occurred, Barriera knew immediately that the outcome would not be pleasant.
Good news on Ricky T yesterday, but unfortunately not so good on Brandon Barriera.
Hearing per a source that the #BlueJays 2022 first-rounder needs left elbow surgery.
They won’t know if it’s TJ or internal brace until surgery next week so no timeline, but it’s 10+ months.— Scott Mitchell (@ScottyMitchTSN) April 27, 2024
Blue Jays 2022 First-Rounder Needs Left Elbow Surgery
Blue Jays Prospects Get Dinged With Injuries
Seems like the inevitable result for most of these hard-throwing youngsters. This season certainly has to be a record for injuries, especially pitchers who have had to go on the IL and have surgery. Pitchers are dropping like flies this season. The Blue Jays started with injuries late in Spring Training, and now they are dealing with more, with May right around the corner. Barriera saw the same doctor that ace pitcher Spencer Strider saw a few weeks ago. The doctor’s name is Dr. Keith Meister. The Blue Jays prospect cupboard is bare, and their top three pitching prospects – Ricky Tiedemann, Barriera, and Landen Maroudis – are all slated to see doctors this week because of arm injuries. Tiedemann luckily doesn’t require any surgery and is dealing with nerve inflammation in his elbow. He’s expected to miss about another seven to 10 days. It’s certainly good news for Ricky and manager John Schneider. It’s undoubtedly a coincidence that all three prospects deal with arm/elbow injuries.
A very troubling scene for #BlueJays 2022 1st-round pick Brandon Barriera, who exited his '24 season debut tonight due to injury.
Brutal timing for the 20 y/o lefty. pic.twitter.com/o9rXhY6uE8
— Thomas Hall (@Hall_Thomas_) April 6, 2024
Barriera left his first start of the low-A season after 1.1 innings. It is difficult to understand how it happens so often that a pitcher can have these issues just 1-2 starts. They have all sorts of practice and bullpens where they’re throwing at 100%. What’s stopping them from reporting any issues or concerns and maybe preventing them from worsening? Unfortunately, the 22-year-old has not been lucky, as Brandon battled injuries last season and only pitched in seven games for 20.1 innings. Barriera had a solid winter and was set to have a strong season this year.
From Promising To Unlucky
The timing and nature of this injury is quite unfortunate for the lefty youngster. He didn’t want to exit his season debut with a troubling injury. Brandon threw a slider, received the ball back, and then progressed to walk off the mound and bolted the ball into the ground before exiting the game with his trainer. It looked like he was at last moving forward with the injuries he has dealt with in the past. He had gotten into better shape for the 2024 season and pitched close to 97 mph before elbow surgery.
Main Photo Credits: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
