Cubs prospect Brandon Birdsell, one of the top young arms in the system, will undergo surgery on his right elbow this week, assistant general manager Jared Banner announced yesterday (link via Janie McCauley of the Associated Press). Banner didn’t provide specifics regarding the injury, noting only that the procedure will be performed by Dr. Keith Meister — one of the industry’s most prominent orthopedic surgeons — and that more information will be known following the procedure.
Banner made no mention of Birdsell’s ulnar collateral ligament, though that’s obviously the fear in situations like this. It’s relatively common with UCL injuries for medical experts to determine that the ligament needs repair but hold off on making the call between an internal brace and full replacement (i.e. Tommy John surgery) until the operation is underway and the surgeon can get a first-hand look at the extent of the damage. The obvious hope, of course, is that Birdsell is dealing with a less severe injury, but the team won’t divulge that information until after the operation is performed.
Regardless of the nature of the surgery, it’s a setback in the development of Birdsell, a former Texas Tech standout whom the Cubs selected with their fifth-round pick in the 2022 draft. The 6’2″, 240-pound righty put himself on the prospect map with a 2.77 ERA in 107 1/3 innings between High-A and Double-A in his first professional season in 2023, and he followed up with 135 2/3 frames of 3.91 ERA ball split between Double-A and Triple-A last year. Along the way, he made notable improvements in both his strikeout and walk rates, finishing out the ’24 campaign at 23.5% and 5.4%, respectively. That 2024 season propelled him up the organization’s prospect rankings, landing him eighth at FanGraphs, ninth at MLB.com and 12th at Baseball America.
Birdsell opened the 2025 season on the injured list with an elbow issue but returned to the mound in mid-June and looked effective for much of the summer. The Cubs eased him back into things with two- and four-inning starts in the low minors before stretching him back out in Triple-A. Birdsell posted a 2.48 ERA, 23.3% strikeout rate and 9.2% walk rate in his first seven appearances before being rocked for six runs (three earned) across 4 2/3 innings on Aug. 7 in what will now go down as his final start of the 2025 season.
There’s little left to prove for Birdsell in the minors. He entered the year widely regarded as a nearly MLB-ready back-of-the-rotation arm with a reputation for filling up the strike zone. He’ll be Rule 5-eligible this offseason, presenting the Cubs with an interesting decision if his surgery will knock him out for most or all of the 2026 campaign.
That’s too bad. He was pretty much MLB ready to start 2025 if he didn’t get hurt. Probably not saying because they are going to go in and see exactly what the damage is. Hopefully it’s not a full reconstruct or maybe it’s even bone spurs. Fingers crossed. Probably done until 2027 just in time for the lockout LOL
Sorry to read. This is why good GMs need to develop their prospects AND make opportunistic external additions. The Brewers, for instance, had Misorioski in the wings but also added Priester and Quintana, all the while knowing they had Woodruff coming back. And that’s part of why they are probably going to win the World Series.
Brewers front office has been running circles on Hoyer and the gang, it’s ridiculous how over matched the Cubs have been with a much smaller budget.
Across
Go, Cubs! Look, I would not have extended Jed-eye, but you and especially Uncle Mike pile on the Cubs administration which is merely slightly below average not bottom of the barrel.
Cubs have an identical record to the Phillies and a better record than the Dodgers or Padres.
If I told you in April 2025, that the Cubs would lose Justin Steele for the season and, with 28 games to go, still be tied for the second best regular season record in the National League you would (or should) consider it a successful year, not a mishap.
The story is NOT that the Cubs are underperforming, the story is that Milwaukee is really awesome. And the Brewers, Cubs, Dodgers, Padres and Phillies all have a real chance be in the post-season, all five of them are legitimate teams.
I like your positivity, and I’ll be hooked but I need them to be in the playoffs. I am a Debbie Downer, absolutely but I can admit that they have done much better than when they started the season and lost Steele, lost Shota for a good while. At the very least, this team can kind of handle winning teams, something the Yankees have trouble with. I’ll be a little more chipper, this team is making the playoffs, and that’s already a win. I’m not being facetious lol
Milw has had a great FO for years, but don’t wager too much on them even winning 1 playoff series. There will be zero fear for stars from Philly/LAD or even the sleepwalking Mets (with playoff primetime Soto) lighting up its pitching that consistently overachieves during regular season. It would be a nice story for them to break through vs a string of deep pocket clubs.
Birdsell represents 50% of the Cubs worthwhile pitching prospects so they’ll have to put him on the 40 and burn a spot.