Orioles RHP Travis Lakins undergoes elbow surgery

Orioles right-hander Travis Lakins Sr. underwent surgery this morning to address a recurrent olecranon stress fracture in his throwing elbow, manager Brandon Hyde told reporters, including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. The hope is that Lakins will be ready for Spring Training in 2022, although that doesn’t seem to be a foregone conclusion.

It’s not especially surprising to hear Lakins required surgery. He’d already been placed on the 60-day injured list after leaving an outing last week with an elbow issue the team called “significant.” That suggested a season-ending absence was a possibility, and that’ll indeed prove to be the case.

Lakins has pitched in the big leagues in each of the past three seasons. He broke in with the Red Sox in 2019 and was traded to Baltimore in 2020. The 27-year-old has made 46 appearances (45 in relief) with the O’s since then, working 53 2/3 innings of 4.36 ERA/4.65 FIP ball. 

He’ll remain on the 60-day IL for the rest of the season, but he’ll need to be reinstated from the injured list at the beginning of the offseason. If the O’s feel it’s worth devoting a 40-man roster spot to him over the winter, he’d be controllable through 2025 and wouldn’t reach arbitration eligibility until after 2022.