Brash undergoes Tommy John surgery

Seattle Mariners reliever Matt Brash (Kingston, Ont.) underwent Tommy John surgery on Wednesday.

May 11, 2024

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

Seattle Mariners reliever Matt Brash underwent Tommy John surgery on Wednesday.

The Kingston, Ont., native will miss the rest of this season and most likely the first couple of months of the 2025 campaign.

Mariners general manager Justin Hollander shared the news with reporters on Friday.

“To have his season go away like this stinks for him. Stinks for us,” Hollander told reporters. “Probably one of the most popular players in the organization among his teammates, among staff members.”

Hollander explained that Brash had a partial tear in the posterior area of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

The surgery was performed by Dr. Keith Meister in Arlington, Texas.

Brash had been diagnosed with medial elbow inflammation in early March and had been attempting to work his way back without surgery.

Last season, in his second big league campaign, Brash developed into a go-to late-inning reliever for the Mariners. He led major league pitchers with 78 appearances and had a 9-4 record and a 3.06 ERA. Thanks largely to his devastating slider, he fanned 107 batters in 70 2/3 innings, good for a 13.6 strikeout-per-nine-inning rate.

Chosen in the fourth round of the 2019 MLB draft by the San Diego Padres, Brash, a Kingston Thunder and Niagara Purple Eagles alum, made just five appearances in the Padres’ organization before he was dealt to the Mariners on September 17, 2020 to complete a transaction for reliever Taylor Williams.

Brash enjoyed a breakout season in the Mariners’ minor league ranks in 2021, combining to go 6-4 with a 2.31 ERA in 20 appearances (19 starts) between High A and double-A, which earned him a late season big league call-up. For his efforts, he was named the Canadian Baseball Network’s Wayne Norton award winner, as the top Canuck minor league pitcher.

He made the M’s roster out of spring training in 2022 but after beginning the season in the rotation, the 6-foot-1 righty was successfully converted into a reliever. In total, after joining the M’s bullpen on July 9 that year, he registered a 2.35 ERA in 34 appearances and struck out 43 batters in 30 2/3 innings.

Brash would make his national team debut the following spring at the World Baseball Classic. In his sole inning of work, he struck out the side against Great Britain in Canada’s 18-8 win.