“Really,” he says, “I felt like my heart had been ripped out of my chest.”
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Eflin underwent Tommy John surgery to reconstruct his elbow on April 8, eight days after leaving his first start of the season in the fourth inning. His 2026 season will consist of just 11 recorded outs, as he undergoes the grueling rehab that thousands of pitchers before him endured.
However, this elbow reconstruction marks Eflin’s second major surgery in eight months: In August, he underwent a lumbar microdiscectomy, a back procedure that would sideline him for four to eight months.
It was brutal timing: Eflin was set to hit the free agent market in just two months. At the time of his back surgery, he expressed interest in returning to the Baltimore Orioles, even as he faced great uncertainty undergoing a major procedure at age 31.
However, the Orioles made the reunion possible, signing him in December to a one-year contract that guarantees him $10 million – $2 million coming from a buyout of a $25 million option for 2027.
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With trade and free agent acquisitions Shane Baz and Chris Bassitt on board, Eflin planned to start the year on the disabled list while recovering from back surgery. However, he surprised the club with his health and performance in the spring and opened up the rotation.
“I have never felt better in my career,” Eflin says Sunday, April 12, in his first public comments since his injury. “Part of that had to do with the increased mobility I gained in spring training, getting the bone spur out of my back and fixing the hernia.”
Now Eflin, who won 68 games in 189 career starts and accumulated 12.9 WAR, wonders if the elbow was ready for such mobility. He was performing well in his start against the Texas Rangers, striking out seven of the 17 batters he had faced when he felt his elbow catch.
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“I felt amazing for three innings. Then in the fourth inning, a pitch was needed,” he says. “A heater or cutter that would come up and it felt like a hamstring cramp in my elbow. I had literally never felt anything in my elbow.
“I couldn’t reach out. I couldn’t do anything. It’s frustrating, but it’s reality and you’re going to live with it.”
Once again, Eflin expressed his desire to reunite with Baltimore. It makes sense on one level: The club will almost certainly decline his $25 million option, but given that he’s owed a $2 million buyout, perhaps it increases the odds that they can retire in another year that takes into account his likely absence until about midseason in 2027.
Either way, Eflin has an idea of the path she’s taking. It’s a little devastating that it’s back to square one so soon.
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“Take rehab seriously. Go to war every day trying to get better,” he says. “Continue to encourage people in any way I can. Serve wherever I’m called. At the end of the day, do everything I can to make sure my whole body is ready the next time I go out.
“Which is what we did this offseason. It’s like a headache for me. I know God’s timing is always perfect and I will serve wherever I am called.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Zach Eflin injury, Tommy John surgery devastating for Orioles pitcher