Seattle Mariners starting lefty Robbie Ray will miss the rest of the 2023 season after undergoing surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his pitching elbow.
Ray was injured in his season debut against Cleveland on March 31, throwing 91 pitches over 3.1 innings and allowing three earned runs. He also walked five, one shy of his career high.
“In the second inning it felt a little tight, but it didn’t seem out of the ordinary,” Ray said about his lone 2023 start. “It was a cold night. I just thought maybe it took me a while to get loose in that second inning. I didn’t really think that much about it, but after that my arm started to tighten up a good amount.”
Mariners announce LHP Robbie Ray will undergo surgery to repair his flexor tendon and miss the remainder of the 2023 season. pic.twitter.com/oLUd5YF282
— MLB (@MLB) April 26, 2023
Ray just completed his first year with the Mariners, going 12-12 with a 3.71 ERA in 2022. He had his best year with the Blue Jays in 2021, leading the American League in ERA (2.84), games started (32), innings pitched (193.1), ERA+ (157) and WHIP (1.045) while leading all major leaguers in strikeouts (248) to capture the AL Cy Young Award. That offseason, he signed with the Mariners for five years and $115 million.
The 31-year-old has not had much injury history, as he has started at least 23 games every year besides his rookie year and the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Through 10 years with Seattle, Toronto (2020-21), Arizona (2015-20) and Detroit (2014), Ray has accumulated a 3.96 ERA in 222 starts.
Seattle currently sits 11-12, good for fourth in the AL West. If they hope to recreate last year’s success and make the playoffs for the second time in as many years, they’ll need to find a replacement for their Cy Young winner.
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