Rays’ Brent Honeywell headed for Tommy John surgery

The Tampa Bay Rays have been in the news a lot lately, and now their top pitching prospect is headed for Tommy John surgery.

The Tampa Bay Rays have torn down their roster very quickly, leaving fans to scratch their heads over the future. Unfortunately, Tampa did the purge due to financial issues with a new stadium hanging over the organization’s head.

Now there is some more harsh news for the Rays and their stud right-hander Brett Honeywell, who needs Tommy John surgery. If all goes well, Honeywell likely returns at some point of the 2019 season.

Here is what Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times wrote on the matter:

"Honeywell said he was throwing harder Thursday than he ever had, but insisted that was not cause of the UCL tear, that it was “inevitable,” would have happened at some point. He also was adamant that his “unconventional” approach to pitching – including throwing a screwball – has nothing to do with UCL tear."

The Rays are already playing for the future and were ready to look ahead. Honeywell would’ve made the MLB roster at some point this season. Unfortunately, now there is a huge setback for a club that heavily relies on its homegrown talent. Tampa is going to rely on its prime youngsters, but without Honeywell, there’s a bit of a stumble.

Next: Pirates acquire Corey Dickerson

The Rays are a team heading into a rebuild, but they still would have loved to have him pitch. Now, he will be out all of 2018 and a big chunk of 2019. So it is a rough time to be a Rays fan, as they are switching it up again. Tampa won 80 games last year, but it figured since the other teams have improved, the time was right to step back and rebuild. Hopefully, Honeywell has a speedy recovery on his path to success.