Drew Smyly to undergo Tommy John surgery

Drew Smyly’s first season with the Seattle Mariners has been a disaster. The southpaw suffered a setback in a simulated game and needs Tommy John surgery.

Usually it’s a good thing to be traded to the Seattle Mariners as a pitcher. Safeco Field has become one of the best pitchers parks in baseball. While reaching the AL postseason doesn’t happen in the Pacific Northwest, at least one’s ERA is down. However, it has not been a good first year in Seattle for southpaw Drew Smyly.

Smyly was traded from the Tampa Bay Rays in January to help bolster the Seattle rotation. During spring training, Smyly would injure himself in a Cactus League game. He had been put on the disabled list with a flexor strain in his pitching elbow.

He was slated to make his debut in the Seattle rotation after the All-Star break. However, he suffered a ghastly setback in a simulated game on Wednesday. Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports that “Drew Smyly has a torn UCL and will undergo Tommy John surgery.” Divish would add that Dr. James Andrews will be performing the surgery on July 6.

This is devastating news for Smyly and the Mariners rotation. While Seattle has hovered around .500 through the first half of the year, the Mariners are built to win with pitching. Not getting Smyly back in July hurts their firepower to contend for a wild card berth down the stretch.

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Seattle is not going to catch AL West leader Houston this summer. The Mariners are coming to the realization that Smyly may not make his Mariners debut until well over a year from now in 2018. Seattle gave up three prospects to Tampa Bay to land him. This is proving to be a disastrous trade for the Mariners. Some guys just can’t catch a break.