Cubs's 2025 Pitching Staff Full Of Players That Had Tommy John Surgery

It’s impossible to find a pitching staff in Major League Baseball that hasn’t been touched by Tommy John surgery.

More than 50 years ago, the procedure Dr. Frank Jobe pioneered, which saved the career of Tommy John — the pitcher it’s named for — is ubiquitous in baseball, perhaps more than ever before.

Recently, baseball writer and analyst Jon Roegele combed every MLB pitching staff in 2025. His question? Find every pitcher that was used in the season that, at some point, had Tommy John surgery. That surgery could have been at any time in their life, from youth baseball to the Majors. What he found was startling.

Last season, 39.1% of all Major League pitchers had the surgery at some point in their career. The Cubs didn’t lead the league in pitchers used that had the procedure, but they were in the top half.

Chicago’s Tommy John Roster

Chicago Cubs pitcher Cade Horton wears a Cubs hat, headset and Cubs T-shirt while doing a TV interview — Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The leaders were the Detroit Tigers and the Los Angeles Dodgers, each of which used 21 pitchers last season who had Tommy John at some point. For the Tigers, that included two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, who had the procedure in college. For the Dodgers, that included their two-time reigning National League MVP Shohei Ohtani, who has had the procedure twice.

The Cubs used 14 pitchers in 2025 that have had the procedure, which was just outside the Top 10. The list included Ryan Brasier, Chris Flexen, Brooks Kriske, Colin Rea, Julian Merryweather, Michael Fulmer, Ben Brown, Jameson Taillon, Tom Cosgrove, Cade Horton, Andrew Kittredge, Ethan Roberts, Matthew Boyd and Justin Steele.

Steele missed nearly all of last season with a revision repair to his left throwing elbow. This came after he had Tommy John surgery in 2017. The latter surgery repairs a torn UCL in the elbow and involves drilling tunnels in the humerus and ulna bones, threading a tendon graft through it and securing it.

Justin Steele | Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images

Horton was one of the best parts of last year’s rotation as a rookie. Horton had his surgery after he tore the UCL in his right elbow before his freshman season in 2021 at Oklahoma. Boyd was an All-Star last season and is nearly three years removed from his Tommy John repair while with Detroit in 2023.

The list is proof that elbow injuries are common in the game and that players can chase and attain success after a procedure that typically requires anywhere from 12 to 18 months to recover. Dr. Jobe’s attempt to save John’s career is now a career extender for nearly 40% of MLB pitchers last season.

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