Cincinnati Reds pitcher Brandon Williamson’s promising career trajectory took another painful turn Wednesday when a second MRI of his injured elbow revealed a complete tear of the UCL, requiring Tommy John surgery.
Williamson, who does not yet have a timetable for the surgery, said he had no signs that anything was wrong with his elbow until the second-to-last pitch he threw in the second inning against Michael Harris II of the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night.
“No warning signs. I felt good,” said Williamson, whose first inning was difficult and which he attributed to “mechanical” problems.
“I threw a changeup (to Harris) and felt a little tug there,” he said. “But pitchers feel things all the time, so I didn’t think much of it. The next pitch, it just went. I just felt it.”
Williamson missed most of the season with a shoulder injury that required surgery in the summer. He was worried he would need surgery, but his rehab went well enough to return to starting four games and look dominant until he started struggling on Tuesday night.
“It kind of came out of nowhere,” said Williamson, who was one of the Reds’ best starters as a rookie last season. “I’ve never had any problems with my elbow. When it happened, I knew something didn’t feel right, but I didn’t know what.”
A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan on Tuesday evening showed the damage, he said, and a follow-up MRI with contrast injection on Wednesday showed the complete tear.
Recovery and rehabilitation after Tommy John surgery typically takes more than a year.
When asked if he had had time to understand what was in store for him in 2025, he said, “I know what next year will look like; I just went through most of it this year.”
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“This is my challenge now. It’s my career,” he said. “I’m going to make the most of it. Sulking or getting upset about it doesn’t help at all. I’m just going to keep laying bricks.”
Williamson was a staple in the Reds’ rotation this season until a shoulder injury sidelined him in the spring. And after returning from that injury (2.08 ERA in his first three games back), he was considered a key part of the starting lineup next spring.
Manager David Bell said he was not yet ready to assess what the loss of Williamson could mean for the Reds’ plans and starting pitcher depth in the 2025 season, which is crucial for the organization’s competitive rebuild.
“I’m thinking about Brandon as an individual right now,” Bell said. “I haven’t thought about how that impacts the team yet.”
Bell said he was confident there was still a realistic chance Williamson could return in time to play late next season, but given the apparent severity of the tear and the typical recovery time (up to 18 months), that seems unlikely at best.
“I feel like most of the guys are coming back the same or even better, which is good news,” Williamson said.
In a related move on Wednesday, the Reds recalled left-hander Brandon Leibrandt, son of former World Series starter Charlie Leibrandt, from Triple-A Louisville for his second appearance with the major league club this year.
