Texas Star OF Max Belyeu To Miss Time With Injury

Correction: The original version of this post used information that was reported by a college baseball insider. It has been updated to reflect the latest information, as released by the school.

The No. 5 Texas Longhorns (23-3, 8-1) were dealt some bad news on the injury front on Monday afternoon, as D1Baseball's Kendall Rogers reported that Max Belyeu will miss the rest of the regular season with a fractured thumb.

However, shortly after that report was released, it was announced by the school that Belyeu has been listed as weel-to-week, and will have a chance to return during the regular season.

"University of Texas baseball junior outfielder Max Belyeu will miss time due to a thumb injury," the release from the school read. "His status is currently week-to-week."

Belyeu, the Longhorns' superstar right fielder, is an important piece of the lineup whose loss will undoubtedly play a big role over the remainder of their schedule. Prior to the injury he was slashing an impressive .358/.465/.642 with six home runs and 22 runs driven in.

Not only was Belyeu dangerous at the plate, but he anchored right field with excellent defense. His range helped him track down almost anything hit his way while an absolute cannon of an arm kept runners honest and forced them to think twice about trying to move up an extra 90 feet for fear of being thrown out.

Fortunately, it appears that Belyeu and the Longhorns could potentially be able to return.next-man-up Until then, though, it will be a next man up mentality.

Texas Longhorns outfielder Max Belyeu (44) throws the ball to first during the game against Washington at UFCU Disch Falk Field on Saturday, March. 16, 2024 in Austin. | Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK

Texas also does have options on the roster to make up for Belyeu's absence in the meantime. Defensively, they can rotate Tommy Farmer IV over from left field to right and slot Easton Winfield in left as a result. Farmer has displayed elite range in left as well and Winfield has shown he can handle himself defensively as well.

Offensively, the blow will be harder to absorb. That being said, the lineup is definitely deep enough and has seen improvements from guys like Will Gasparino -- especially over the last couple of weeks.

There's no denying that losing Belyeu is not something the Longhorns wanted to plan for or try to handle in any capacity. For now, though, they have to and must be ready to roll with that punch and keep firing on all cylinders until he returns.