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W-T-EFlin! Phillies Pitcher to Have Knee Surgery and Miss Start of Next Season
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After the latest setback for Zack Eflin – a flare up of his knee injury on August 26, the day he was supposed to return to the Phillies lineup – it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that he would not pitch again in 2021.
What wasn’t expected was that this cranky knee would have him miss games in 2022 as well, but that’s where things are for the Phillies at this point.
The Phils announced that Eflin, 27, will undergo surgery Friday to repair his right patellar tendon and that the recovery time from this surgery is six-to-eight months:
RHP Zach Eflin is scheduled to undergo surgery with Dr. Steve Cohen this Friday in Philadelphia to repair his right patellar tendon. His expected recovery time is 6-8 months. Eflin has been transferred to the 60-day IL.
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 8, 2021
That means, even on the fast end, he wouldn’t be able to start his offseason pitching program until March, when most pitchers are gearing up to start the regular season at Spring Training.
And if he comes in on the slower end of the timeline, that would take him into next May, meaning Eflin might not pitch meaningful baseball games again until after next season’s All-Star break.
There was no doubt the Phillies were going to look for starting pitching depth in the offseason anyway, but this exacerbates the need even further.
Eflin was 4-7 with a 4.17 ERA in 18 starts this season, but hasn’t pitched since July 16. He was placed on the IL with right patellar tendonitis and rehabbed it to get back in time to pitch on Aug. 26, only to be scratched three hours before game time.
He has been shut down since.
Eflin also spent time on the COVID-related IL which likely prevented this pending surgery from happening about a week or so sooner.
Tendinitis has been a chronic issue for Eflin ever since he was a teenager. He had surgery on both knees in 2016.
He was moved to the 60-day IL which give the Phillies a little bit of flexibility with their 40-man roster as they go down the stretch.
Get well soon, @zeflin12! ❤️
Can't wait to have you back on the mound. pic.twitter.com/0SO91TEvlw
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 8, 2021
Anthony SanFilippo writes about the Phillies and Flyers for Crossing Broad and hosts a pair of related podcasts (Crossed Up and Snow the Goalie). A part of the Philadelphia sports media for a quarter century, Anthony also dabbles in acting, directing, teaching, and strategic marketing, which is why he has no time to do anything, but does it anyway. Follow him on Twitter @AntSanPhilly.