The Astros announced to reporters, including Chandler Rome of The Athletic, that right-hander Luis Garcia underwent elbow surgery on Wednesday. That surgery included a reconstruction of his ulnar collateral ligament, the procedure commonly known as Tommy John surgery. It will be his second Tommy John surgery in the past three years. The righty’s flexor tendon was also repaired this week.
Last month, the Astros announced that Garcia would be undergoing some sort of elbow procedure which would prevent him from pitching in 2026. They didn’t provide the details on that operation until today.
Today’s update is not surprising but provides some specificity on what’s ahead for Garcia. Elbow issues have been haunting him for several years now. He made just six starts in 2023 before requiring his first Tommy John surgery. He was expected to return to the club in 2024 but repeatedly hit setbacks and eventually missed that whole season.
More setbacks came in 2025 and he didn’t make it back to the big league club until September 1st. He made one good start, throwing six innings of three-run ball against the Angels. But in his second outing in Toronto, he called out the trainers in the second inning and ominously departed the game. He was placed on the 15-day injured list the next day due to elbow discomfort. Just a few days later, he was already on the 60-day IL. A few weeks later, the Astros already made it public that his 2026 was over.
Garcia just finished his second arbitration season. He can be retained for one more but there’s no reason for the Astros to tender him a contract since he’s going to miss the year. They could theoretically work out a two-year deal. It’s fairly common these days for a pitcher facing a lengthy injury absence to get a two-year pact. The player gets to bank some money while rehabbing. The team gets no return on the first year but is hoping for enough production in the second year to justify the entire investment.
Whether Garcia can secure that kind of expenditure remains to be seen. He has a strong track record, with a 3.60 earned run average in 359 2/3 big league innings, but there has to be a lot of doubt about his future. Even if he is healthy at some point in 2027, he’ll be coming off four effectively lost years.
A likely scenario is that Garcia is non-tendered or outrighted off the roster in the coming weeks. He could then try to find a two-year deal with the Astros or any other club. Astros fans will perhaps be familiar with José Urquidy’s departure. He required Tommy John surgery in June of last year. The Astros outrighted him off the roster at season’s end and he became a free agent. He then signed with the Tigers, a one-year deal which paid him $1MM in 2025 with a $4MM club option for 2026. Garcia could try to follow that path but he should have less appeal to a signing club since his surgery is occurring later in the year and his health history is worse.
Photo courtesy of Erik Williams, Imagn Images