Cardinals’ Trevor Rosenthal will have Tommy John surgery

UPDATE: Rosenthal will indeed have Tommy John surgery, according to a team announcement. The news is a huge blow for 2018, as the righty will likely miss the entire season before hitting the free-agent market.
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ORIGINAL: The Cardinals moved reliever Trevor Rosenthal to the 60-day disabled list Wednesday, effectively ending his season. Rosenthal has been dealing with elbow issues in recent weeks.

Though Rosenthal’s exact prognosis is not yet known, he has been dealing with ligament damage in his pitching elbow and is considering a surgical option. He met with Dr. Neal ElAttrache for a second opinion earlier in the week.

Rosenthal, 27, has worked to a 3.40 ERA while saving 11 games for the Cardinals this season while yielding most of closing duties to Seung-hwan Oh. Rosenthal was originally placed on the 10-day disabled list last Friday after experiencing elbow pain.

With Rosenthal’s 2017 season now over, the attention will shift to if he will miss any time next year with his injury. If Tommy John surgery is in fact on the table, he’d be slated to miss most of the 2018 campaign before hitting free agency next winter.