Angels' High-Paid Pitcher to Undergo Tommy John Surgery, Hopeful for Early 2025 Return
Robert Stephenson didn't have any elbow issues until he let go of the second pitch during a minor league rehab outing on April 13. Suddenly, his season was over before it had a chance to begin.
“It just came out weird,” Stephenson said Tuesday, the first time he’d spoken to the media since the injury. “I just felt it right when I threw it. I tried to throw a couple more pitches after that, but just something felt wrong. I didn’t expect it to be as bad as it ended up.”
Stephenson told members of the media that he will have Tommy John surgery on April 30. He also said that he will have the internal brace, which is the surgery that former Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani underwent.
The brace, which is a piece of surgical tape that gives extra support to the reconstructed ulnar collateral ligament, does not change the recovery time frame, Stephenson said.
“It’s about a year, up to 15, maybe 18 months,” Stephenson said. “Being a reliever obviously helps, but I’m not sure.”
The 31-year-old signed a three-year, $33 million contract in January and never threw a single pitch for the Angels this season. He missed all of spring training with a shoulder injury, and said he never had an inkling that something would go awry with his elbow.
He would have begun the season as the primary setup man to closer Carlos Estévez, but now the Angels won’t see Stephenson until sometime next season, and perhaps not until 2026.
However, the injury does trigger a clause in his contract allowing the Angels to have an option to bring him back in 2027 for $2.5 million. He'll make $11 million guaranteed each year from 2024-26.
