Alex Reyes finished a blistering rehab assignment after a year off for Tommy John surgery, but his return to the Cardinals’ rotation was short-lived:
Alex Reyes underwent surgery to reattach a tendon in his right lat today. He is expected to miss the rest of the season. #STLCards
— Joe Trezza (@JoeTrezz) June 6, 2018
Alex Reyes' initial MRI revealed a tendon "partially frayed" from the bone in his right lat. The second opinion he received today confirmed that diagnosis, prompting Dr. Anthony Romero to perform immediate surgery.
Romero previously treated Jake Peavy for a similar injury.— Joe Trezza (@JoeTrezz) June 6, 2018
Mark Saxon of The Athletic tweets the torn tendon in his right lat has an expected recovery time of six months. This is a big blow to the Cardinals’ rotation, to say the least.
Reyes had already missed the first two months of the season while recovering from Tommy John surgery before he made his regular season debut a week ago against the Brewers. His outing was cut short as the Cardinals pulled Reyes after four innings after a noticeable drop in velocity and issues with control. While there was some hope this was part of a plan, it turned out Reyes suffered another injury. This time, it was a right lat strain that sent him to the disabled list and ultimately will put him on the shelf for the rest of the season.
It has since been reported that Reyes felt some discomfort during his last rehab start in Memphis, but did not mention it. Even though he might have felt he could pitch through the injury, he couldn’t.
St. Louis was expected to get a big boost from Reyes in some form this season, whether it was going to be out of the bullpen or in the rotation. Injuries throughout the Cardinals’ starting staff necessitated Reyes’ move into the rotation. And by the looks of things, he was going to be a dynamite performer based on his dominance of opposing batters during his rehab outings. Reyes’ absence will obviously have a huge impact on the Cardinals’ rotation, as well as what could happen in the NL Central and Wild Card races.