Red Sox's Vinny Nittoli Has Glass-Half-Full Injury Outlook After Surgery

Not that this helps the Red Sox, but it could prolong Nittoli's career

Jun 16, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Oakland Athletics pitcher Vinny Nittoli (64) delivers a pitch against the Minnesota Twins during the fifth inning of game one of a double header at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Vinny Nittoli's stay with the Boston Red Sox, at least on his current contract, will unfortunately not be a memorable one.

Nittoli has four partial seasons of major league experience, but this past season, he found himself stuck in Triple-A for all 37 of his appearances. He was hoping that joining the Red Sox organization would get him back to the majors in 2026, but that dream came to an end over the past couple of weeks.

After originally feeling elbow discomfort on the last day of February, Nittoli needed surgery. According to a report from Ari Alexander of WHDH-TV in Boston, the 35-year-old right-hander underwent that surgery on Thursday -- ending his season before it even began.

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What we know about Nittoli's surgery, recovery

"Red Sox reliever Vinny Nittoli had successful internal brace surgery on his right elbow by Dr. Jeffrey Dugas today, a league source tells 7 News," wrote Alexander on X. "Nittoli will miss the 2026 season, but avoided Tommy John and should be able to pitch in winter ball."

For the Red Sox's purposes, Nittoli's minor-league contract is something of a wash. He could have perhaps been a valuable depth arm at Triple-A even if he proved not to be worthy of a major league spot all year, but now he'll give them no innings at any level.

But for Nittoli, the fact that it was an internal brace procedure and not a full-on Tommy John could be major. Next year will be his age-36 season, and if he wants to get back to the majors after two years off at that age, he'll need to show as much as he can during both winter ball and spring training.

Over just 18 2/3 innings at the major league level, Nittoli has allowed just five earned runs (2.41 ERA). He's got a 4.41 ERA over nine seasons in the minors, so that's probably more indicative of the kind of production a team would expect (scaled up to major league hitting).

Nittoli is on the road to recovery, but it's possible his time with the Red Sox will become a footnote.