Padres’ Jhony Brito Underwent UCL Surgery

Last month, Padres righty Jhony Brito underwent an internal brace surgery to address his UCL as well a flexor tendon repair. General manager A.J. Preller announced the news to reporters (including AJ Cassavell of MLB.com).

Brito will miss all of this season and likely the first couple months of next year. The internal brace procedure can sometimes come with a slightly quicker timeline than would a full Tommy John ligament reconstruction. It’s nevertheless typically at least a yearlong rehab process. Brito is already on the 60-day injured list after beginning the season on the shelf with what was initially diagnosed as a forearm strain. He’ll remain on the IL all season but will need to be reinstated to the 40-man roster or placed on waivers at the beginning of the offseason.

San Diego acquired Brito as an ancillary part of the Juan Soto return from the Yankees. He had reached the big leagues with New York in 2023 after seven seasons in the minors. The righty started 13 of 25 appearances as a rookie, working to a 4.28 ERA through 90 1/3 innings. The Friars used him out of the bullpen last year. He allowed 4.12 earned runs per nine with a well below-average 15.7% strikeout rate over 43 2/3 innings. Brito did start all six appearances that he made with Triple-A El Paso. Opposing lineups tagged him for 17 runs over 14 innings.

An elbow strain ended his ’24 season in August. He was healthy enough to return to the mound in Spring Training, where he was competing for a middle relief role. The new elbow injury prevented that from happening and could put him on the roster bubble next winter. Brito will be paid the MLB minimum $760K salary for this season. He’ll surpass the two-year service threshold and isn’t on track to qualify for arbitration until the 2026-27 offseason. The Padres could control him for another four seasons if they’re willing to carry him on the 40-man throughout the offseason.