It’s been an up-and-down season for Justin Martinez’s health and now the roller coaster has ended.
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo relayed on Friday that the right-handed pitcher will undergo Tommy John surgery, ruling him out for the rest of the season. He’s also likely to miss the beginning of next season.
He was already on the 15-day injured list for a right ulnar collateral ligament. Now he’ll be out for 14 to 18 months after going under the knife.
It’s a huge loss for Arizona’s bullpen. Martinez was excellent last season in relief posting a 2.48 ERA in 72 2/3 innings of work.
The pitcher was on and off the IL this season with shoulder and elbow inflammation for more than two months.
Arizona relievers have posted the fourth-worst collective ERA (5.21) in the MLB. They’ve also suffered from the absence of A.J. Puk in the bullpen.
They may get Puk back soon, but Martinez won’t be back for a long time.
This also comes shortly after the announcement that Corbin Burnes will be out for the season, also for Tommy John surgery.
YOU HAVE GOT TO BE FREAKING KIDDING ME
Corbin Burnes: TJS
Justin Martinez: TJS
AJ Puk: already an elbow injury, now potentially in-line for TJS tooUtter ridiculousness. New athletic training staff, treatment methods, etc immediately https://t.co/UJmVmBHjsd
— Dalton Feely (@dfeely14) June 13, 2025
It’s unfortunate news for the Diamondbacks after signing the reliever to an $18-million extension.
They’ll have to hope he returns to form after recovering.
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