The Baltimore Orioles announced on Wednesday that Zach Eflin has undergone UCL (Tommy John) surgery and will miss the entire 2026 season and likely the start of 2027.
CBSSports wrote (on April 8): “The Orioles moved Eflin to the 60-day injured list Tuesday after he received a second opinion on his injured elbow, and he’ll now be out until midway through the 2027 campaign after going under the knife. The 32-year-old righty will finish 2026 having made just 15 starts over the past two seasons, during which he’s posted a 5.76 ERA and 1.43 WHIP over 75 innings.”
Baltimore signed Eflin to a one-year, $10 million deal, which includes a mutual option for 2027.
More MLB on Heavy: New York Yankees Predicted to Trade Anthony Volpe to Brewers in Latest Mock
Baltimore Orioles Get Brutal Zach Eflin News
GettyZach Eflin reacts during the seventh inning against the Detroit Tigers.
No sugar coating this bit of injury news, even though the Orioles aren’t necessarily relying on Eflin to anchor the staff, this is a tough loss in the sense that his $10 million contract is evaporating into space.
Zach Eflin is an 11-year MLB veteran who has played for the Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays, along with the Orioles. He holds a 4.28 career ERA over 189 starts and 1077.1 innings.
Overall, that’s a pretty solid body of work, and Eflin has received contracts due to his ability to take the ball consistently, but this TJS will surely put an anchor on his future in MLB.
More MLB on Heavy: Dodgersâ Miguel Rojas Reveals Tragic, Sad Reason for Being Away from Team
MLB World Reacts to Zach Eflin TJS Update
GettyBALTIMORE, MARYLAND – MARCH 31: Zach Eflin #24 of the Baltimore Orioles pitches in the third inning against the Texas Rangers at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on March 31, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Bill Streicher/Getty Images)
As always with huge pieces of news like this, the MLB landscape across social media has strong reactions:
@FoulTerritory: The Orioles announce Zach Eflin underwent successful right elbow UCL reconstruction surgery today. He’s out for the season.
@SleeperOrioles: Zach Eflin, who had back surgery in August, underwent Tommy John surgery today His 2026 season is over Rest up Eflin and come back even stronger
@CordellWoodland: RHP Zach Eflin had successful right elbow UCL reconstruction today with Dr. Keith Meister in Arlington, TX
@NateChive: Really feeling for Zach Eflin. He was traded to the #Orioles and was excellent in 2024, struggled in 2025 with injuries + had back surgery, re-signed because he loved being here, looked great, then hurt the elbow and underwent TJ surgery after the 1st start of ’26. Brutal.
Zach Eflin’s best season in MLB came in 2023 with the Rays. He led the AL with 16 pitcher wins and boasted an earned run average of 3.50 over 177.2 innings. Eflin was then traded from the Rays to the Orioles the following season, and pitched well enough to earn a contract with Baltimore.
More MLB on Heavy: Yankees Trade Pitch with Chicago Cubs Makes Perfect Sense After Cade Horton News
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Baltimore Orioles Make Official Announcement on $10 Million Arm appeared first on Heavy Sports.