Diamondbacks right-hander Justin Martínez will undergo Tommy John surgery. Arizona manager Torey Lovullo relayed the info today, per John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Phoenix. He’ll miss the remainder of this season and a decent chunk of 2026 as well. He is already on the 15-day injured list but will be transferred to the 60-day IL once the club needs to open a roster spot.
The news is devastating but not especially surprising. Earlier this week, Martínez landed on the IL and the Diamondbacks announced his injury as a sprain of his right ulnar collateral ligament. A sprain, by definition, involves some degree of stretching or tearing. Not all UCL sprains lead to surgery but many do.
Now that Martínez will go under the knife, he’ll be out of action for a long time. The surgery usually takes 14 to 18 months of recovery, so he’ll certainly out for the rest of this season. A return in the second half of 2026 is possible but not a guarantee.
That’s a huge blow for the Arizona bullpen. Martínez broke out last year with 72 2/3 innings with a 2.48 earned run average. His 11.7% walk rate was a bit high but he punched out 29.5% of batters faced and got opponents to pound 58.9% of balls in play into the ground.
Coming into 2025, he and A.J. Puk were supposed to be the anchors of the bullpen. The Snakes even gave Martínez a five-year, $18MM extension to cement him as part of the long-term plans. But Martínez has been on and off the IL this year, first due to shoulder inflammation and now this UCL injury. Puk has also been on the IL for almost two months now due to elbow inflammation.
Naturally, missing those two has hampered the bullpen. Arizona relievers have a collective 5.21 ERA this year, which is better than just the Angels, Nationals and Athletics. The club is 34-34 on the year, 4.5 games back of a playoff spot. Puk could be back at some point later in the year but they will have to try to survive without Martínez. If they hang in the race long enough to be buyers, then adding bullpen help at the deadline would make plenty of sense.
For the team, there is one silver lining. The extension they signed with Martínez contained two club options for 2030 and 2031, followed by a conditional club option for 2032. That conditional option would be worth $3MM and would be unlocked if Martínez required elbow surgery or spent a certain number of days on the injured list during the course of the deal. Now that he is going under the knife, that option will be officially available to them.
That’s assuming Martínez can get back on the mound and return to his previous form, which would prompt the Snakes to pick up those club options. Though Tommy John surgeries are quite common, not all pitchers can get 100% effectiveness back afterwards. Martínez is also undergoing the procedure for a second time, which adds to the risk. He first went under the knife as a prospect in 2021.
Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images
Todd said the same thing at Lorraine’s barbecue.
Wrong forum?
Losing Strom killed us!
Fingers crossed that Puk returns in a couple of weeks. And if the Dbacks can hang in the WC chase, perhaps Hazen will acquire a RP like Sewald and Puk in ’23 and ’24, respectively. That said, if the Dbacks trade Suarez, Naylor, Gallen and Miller at the deadline, they could acquire some nice pieces for ’26 and beyond. With Burnes out for ’26, I don’t believe the Dbacks will trade Kelly. Imo, they will keep Kelly and re-sign him in the off-season.
He’s seeing the TJ doc in CA. It’s not looking good.
Where are the agents? Where is the union. Where is boras? Silence. This is a plague. Where is the change? Shame on everyone in baseball that allowing this to occur. And shame on mlbtr for focusing on the contract and the money.
Why would they complain if they’re getting paid?
Teams, pitchers, agents, and most fans have already priced-in the potential cost of a Tommy John when we handicap our teams so we can then enjoy the season as it unfurls.
Nurse,
What do you propose be done?
I concur
The teams still pay the players their full contracts when injured, where is the injustice?
Well, players who haven’t reached free agency could be SOL because they’ve done their best for their teams and will get dumped and could have their careers end.
A nice re-tool to be better for 2026 wouldn’t be bad.
They will miss Burnes for a good part of next year while Gallen and Kelly are free agents. Unless they can get their pitching under control they might not be able to compete next year
Another guy going to get paid for a year and a half to wear a sling. Good work if you can get it.
The players union will get you for that…
As they should, no MLB player actively plays to get injured. Another one of Birdie man’s imaginary theories.
More than 1,000 professional pitchers have had the ulnar collateral ligament in their pitching elbow reconstructed since Frank Jobe, MD, operated on Tommy John in 1974. The share of active major-league pitchers who had undergone Tommy John surgery hit 35.3% in 2023, a 29% rise since 2016.
Take it a step further and query the number of college and then high school pitchers that have had TJS or some derivative.
The Dbacks seem to have a pitching curse or something.
Exactly how bad are the DBacks at assembling a pitching staff…..
They’re not only bad at assembling pitching staff, but it’s like there’s something watching over them in Phoenix that hates when their pitching is super good.
Guy throws a 90mph knuckleball. This TJS seems the most obvious out of anyone
It’s the same pitch aroldis Chapman throws… Idk how he hasn’t had one
Why would throwing a knucklball increase chances of TJS?? Knuckleballs don’t spin. Pitchers throwing hard and trying to generate spin is what they say puts extra strain on elbows.
They need Stroman from the Yanks
Everythings fine
Everythings fine
I’m not going to cry
Shelby to the rescue?
Who’s having a more disastrous season dbacks or braves?