Boston Red Sox top pitching prospect Jay Groome to undergo Tommy John Surgery
The Boston Red Sox farm system isn’t the juggernaut it once was. Thanks to some of the fruits of the farm system blooming like Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi plus trades for players like Chris Sale and Craig Kimbrel, they don’t have the talent to dip into the system in case they have an injury or need to make a deal for a piece for the stretch run.
For a team that has plenty of questions in the pitching staff, that may hurt them at the trade deadline.
Their system took a significant hit yesterday as their top pitching prospect in Jay Groome will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the remainder of the season.
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The 119-year-old is the number two prospect in the system according to MLBpipeline.com. Groome had a flexor strain in his elbow in August last season, which cut his time short and hadn’t pitched at all this season.
For the Boston Red Sox, this is a blow to the organization, albeit not one to their major league club. I couldn’t see them using Groome as a trade chip for anyone at the deadline. As much as Dave Dombrowksi will19-year-old his farm system, I couldn’t see him moving him.
It hurts the development of a young pitcher who they believe will be a key part for them in the years to come, someone who needs to build up his innings, especially coming out of high school.
Many pitchers have come back from Tommy John surgery and Groome is young enough, and he can certainly come back and be fine moving forward.
The Boston Red Sox have lost their two top prospects this year, between Groome’s surgery and Michael Chavis‘ suspension. Hopefully, for their sake, they both can return and be better than ever.