Adbert Alzolay to Undergo Undisclosed Arm Surgery

As first reported by Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic, reliever Adbert Alzolay will be having surgery on his right arm at some point in the future. It is not known yet when or exactly on what, as Marquee’s Tony Andracki added that Alzolay is seeking a second opinion. The righty has been out since May 12 with a right flexor strain and had rejoined the Triple-A Iowa Cubs for a rehab assignment when he suffered a setback following his last outing on July 27.

While I have no inside information on the matter, it sounds like this may be a matter of choosing between full-blown UCL replacement or an internal brace procedure. Or maybe it’s not that at all since he had been dealing with a forearm issue. As we revisit each time a pitcher goes down with a forearm strain, however, those injuries can be precursors of elbow problems.

Alzolay struggled mightily over 18 appearances early in the season and was demoted from the closer role after giving up six homers and blowing five saves in just 17.1 innings. That performance and his loss of feel for his slider led to questions about his health well before he was shelved, and this latest development does nothing to quell those concerns. If there’s a silver lining, it’s that the Cubs will have to approach the offseason under the assumption that Alzolay won’t be back next season.

Or maybe that’s just an indication that Jed Hoyer will have more room to seek out another reclamation project rather than buying “certainty” for the bullpen. Either way, this really sucks for Alzolay.