Marco Gonzales Injury: Updates on Cardinals P's Recovery from Tommy John Surgery

The St. Louis Cardinals lost some pitching depth for the 2016 season because southpaw Marco Gonzales is reportedly set to undergo Tommy John surgery. 

Continue for updates. 

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Gonzales to Miss Entire Year

Wednesday, April 13

Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak confirmed Gonzales will have the Tommy John surgery, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

CBS Sports noted Gonzales experienced soreness in his elbow during spring training and was already out for the start of the minor league campaign. CBS Sports also added that Gonzales probably won’t return until the second half of the 2017 season.

This is yet another difficult physical blow for a promising prospect. Rotoworld said the former 19th overall pick from the 2013 amateur draft dealt with a shoulder injury for most of the 2015 campaign as well.

Thanks largely to those injuries, Gonzales has not yet established himself at the major league level. He made one start last season and gave up four earned runs in 2.2 innings after he appeared in 10 games in 2014 and finished with an ERA of 4.15 in 34.2 innings.

The good news for the pitcher is the fact he is still only 24 years old. There is plenty of time for Gonzales to turn his career around once he recovers from this setback, especially considering MLB.com ranked him as the No.7 prospect in the Cardinals’ organization coming into the 2016 campaign.

MLB.com pointed to an impressive command and a devastating changeup that combines well with his fastball to deceive opposing hitters when he is healthy.

As for the impact on the Cardinals, this is another hit to their pitching depth. Lance Lynn is already out for the season because of Tommy John surgery, and John Lackey left in free agency during the offseason. Still, St. Louis boasts a deep rotation that finished with the best ERA in all of baseball last season, per ESPN.com.

Ace Adam Wainwright is back and healthy after only appearing in seven contests in 2015 because of injuries, and the Cardinals added Mike Leake during the offseason. They also have Jaime Garcia, Carlos Martinez and Michael Wacha as quality options as well.

This injury probably has more of an impact on Gonzales’ long-term development than the Cardinals’ ability to compete on the field this season thanks to what was already a strong rotation.