Chris Devenski Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

Diamondbacks reliever Chris Devenski recently underwent Tommy John surgery, MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert reports (Twitter link).  Devenski was reportedly considering surgery after being placed on the 60-day injured list due to a sprained right UCL, and he’ll now face an absence of roughly 13-15 months as per the normal TJ rehab timeline.

Devenski’s 2020 season was also cut short by arthroscopic elbow surgery, though that four-month recovery period pales in comparison to the much more long-term setback of a Tommy John procedure.  Devenski will miss not just the rest of the 2021 season but most or even potentially all of the 2022 campaign, should he hit a setback in his rehab.

Best known for his time with the Astros, Devenski broke into the majors with a 2.38 ERA over 189 innings during the 2016-17 seasons, often working as a multi-inning reliever en route to helping Houston win the 2017 World Series (though he struggled during the Astros’ postseason run).  The right-hander followed up those two big years with only decent performances in 2018-19, and injuries then limited him to only 3 2/3 innings in 2020.

After electing free agency following last season, Devenski inked a minor league deal with the D’Backs that locked in $1MM of guaranteed money once he made Arizona’s big league roster.  Unfortunately, he couldn’t recapture his old form, posting an 8.59 ERA over his 7 1/3 innings for the Snakes, striking out only five of 35 batters faced.

The 30-year-old now faces an uncertain future in his next trip through free agency.  It’s not out of the question that Devenski could land a multi-year minor league contract, with a team essentially paying him a minimal salary to rehab for much of 2022 and then retaining his rights for a (presumably) healthy season in 2023.  However, with Devenski’s lack of a recent track record, teams might just prefer to wait until he’s done rehab in 13-15 months and then scout his progress during a showcase.

While Devenski wasn’t exactly a huge investment for the Diamondbacks, his injury represents yet another misfire during what is looking like a nightmare of a two-year stretch for the club.  The D’Backs struggled to a 25-35 record in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, and the Snakes are 20-39 thus far in 2021, as injuries and under-performance have them already looking like also-rans here in the first week of June.