Former Yankees Prospect Undergoing Tommy John Surgery

A former New York Yankees prospect who is now a member of the Houston Astros has received some unfortunate injury news.

Per The Athletic's Chandler Rome, Astros manager Joe Espada told reporters on Sunday that right-handed pitcher Hayden Wesneski is set to undergo Tommy John surgery, which will end his 2025 season.

“I still don’t know how to feel about it, to be honest with you. I’m kind of in denial a little bit,” Wesneski said. “I think it’ll hit me pretty soon. There’s obviously issues, and we need to fix them."

The Astros initially placed the 27-year-old on the 15-day injured list on May 9 with right elbow discomfort, and Espada told reporters a day later that an MRI revealed he was also dealing with inflammation, per the Houston Chronicle's Matt Kawahara.

Wesneski's diagnosis means that he likely won't work his way back to the major leagues until the back half of the 2026 campaign. After arriving to Houston as part of the Kyle Tucker trade with the Chicago Cubs this past offseason, he posted a 4.50 ERA and 4.78 FIP with an impeccable 4.6 percent walk rate across six starts totalling 32 innings.

The Yankees chose Wesneski in the sixth round of the 2019 MLB Draft. The Sam Houston State product played in parts of three seasons in the team's minor league system, reaching as high as Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, before he was sent to the Cubs at the 2022 deadline for reliever Scott Effross.

Chicago called him up for his big league debut on Sept. 6 of that season, and he'd go on to record a 2.18 ERA in six appearances (four starts).

Wesneski later cracked the club's Opening Day roster in 2023, and he'd finish out the year with a 4.63 ERA and 83 strikeouts over 34 outings (11 starts) and 89 1/3 innings.

He began the 2024 campaign with Triple-A Iowa, though he still found his way into 28 major league contests (seven starts) and logged a 3.86 ERA in 67 2/3 frames.

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