Tyler Matzek undergoing Tommy John Surgery today

2021 postseason Tyler Matzek had a real bummer of a 2022 season, and did not make the Braves’ NLDS roster. Earlier today, manager Brian Snitker announced that while the team was preparing to face off against the Phillies in Game 2 of the NLDS, Matzek was undergoing Tommy John Surgery.

While there were no indications that this would be Matzek’s next step, he was clearly out of sorts for most of the year. His performance was horrid (-0.1 fWAR, and a 140 xFIP- that was way worse than his 114 FIP-), but more than that, his velocity was down two ticks from the prior season.

Earlier this season, Matzek missed about six weeks with shoulder inflammation. While the shoulder and the elbow are, of course, two different joints involved in throwing baseballs, it’s not clear whether the two are related. It’s also not clear whether either really explains his 2022 season, or whether the elbow issues are a relatively new thing that were not previously affecting his lousy 2022 performance.

Matzek is controlled through the 2024 season and is arbitration-eligible next year. The Braves may non-tender him and re-sign him to a modest multi-year deal given his injury status. Stay tuned.