Red Sox Hurler Expected To Miss Significant Time With Elbow Injury

Boston will not have one of their fringe bullpen pieces for a long time

One of the Boston Red Sox's young arms could be sidelined for the remainder of the 2023 season.

Right-handed pitcher Zack Kelly exited the third game of the Red Sox's series against the Tampa Bay Rays in the fifth inning on Wednesday with “elbow pain.”

A week later the Red Sox provided an update.

“Zack Kelly will have elbow surgery,” MassLive’s Chris Cotillo tweeted. “Not Tommy John but a reattachment of the ulnar nerve. Unclear if he will pitch again this year but Cora says he’s ‘out for a while.”

Kelly took the mound six times thus far in 2023 and allowed three earned runs in 7 1/3 innings pitched with six hits, a 6-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and a 1.64 WHIP.

The one positive since the injury is that Kelly will not need Tommy John surgery, which would have without a doubt been a season-killer. The scheduled operation leaves a sliver of hope for Kelly. 

That said, the uncertainty of Kelly’s timetable to return, and the severity of the injury remains a question. 

While the information on the extent of his injury is still partially under wraps, the damage was to the same arm that he had internal bracing surgery in 2020. 

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