{"id":118250,"date":"2026-04-08T21:42:05","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T01:42:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=118250"},"modified":"2026-04-08T21:42:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T01:42:05","slug":"orioles-lose-starter-zach-eflin-tommy-john-surgery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/04\/08\/orioles-lose-starter-zach-eflin-tommy-john-surgery\/","title":{"rendered":"Orioles Lose Veteran Pitcher to Tommy John Surgery"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Baltimore Orioles lost right-handed starting pitcher Zach Eflin<\/a> for the season after he underwent Tommy John surgery this week.<\/p>\n

The 32-year-old sustained elbow discomfort in his first start of the 2026 season on March 31 against the Texas Rangers. He abruptly departed<\/a> after pitching only 3 2\/3 innings, with the Orioles eventually losing 8-5. Eflin received a second opinion on Tuesday, which determined that Eflin needed the surgery, and the team moved him to the 60-day injured list just before announcing the news.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI feel for Zach,\u201d manager Craig Albernaz<\/a> told the Baltimore Banner<\/a> about the injury last week. \u201cThe whole coaching staff, the whole team, you just feel for him. Heart hurts for him. You never want to see anything happen to any player, especially someone like Zach.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The team made a trade<\/a> shortly before the news came out, sending utilityman Brayden Smith<\/a> to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for left-handed pitcher Nick Raquet<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Orioles pitcher Zach Eflin had successful right elbow UCL reconstruction with Dr. Keith Meister. He\u2019s out for the season.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) April 8, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n