Cubs right-hander Codi Heuer was expected to be one of the back-end arms in the bullpen for 2022, assuming the season happens. Instead, it appears Heuer will be laid up for the entire season and possibly even some of the 2023 campaign.
He seemed to announce Tuesday that he had just undergone Tommy John surgery in an Instagram post. The gigantic brace on Heuer's right arm there is what we see on pitchers once they have just undergone that procedure. Sure enough, Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Chicago shortly thereafter reported it was Tommy John surgery, per "a source close to Heuer."
As recently as Jan. 18, Heuer could be seen training and throwing via Twitter, so it appears his injury was suffered between then and now.
Given what we know about the timeline after such a surgery, the best we could hope for regarding Heuer's return would be opening day in 2023 and that's pretty aggressive. For likely would be something like late May or sometime in June of 2023.
Heuer, 25, came to the Cubs with second baseman Nick Madrigal last July in the trade that sent closer Craig Kimbrel to the White Sox.
In Heuer's time with the Cubs, he pitched to a 3.14 ERA and 1.15 WHIP with 17 strikeouts against 10 unintentional walks in 28 2/3 innings. The arm has flashed top-shelf, back-end potential and the Cubs were hoping to have him in the mix this coming season along with Rowan Wick, Manuel Rodríguez and Brad Wieck, the latter a lefty. Perhaps someone like Keegan Thompson or Adbert Alzolay -- if they don't make the rotation -- will figure prominently. Free agency could also be used to shore up some depth.
For now, the Cubs will head into the 2022 season knowing Heuer won't be part of the late-inning equation.
