ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Los Angeles Angels pitcher Jack Kochanowicz needs Tommy John surgery, the team said Tuesday, and the 25-year-old right-hander is expected to be sidelined through the 2027 season.
The Angels also said that third baseman Yoán Moncada will have surgery on his balky right-knee. But, the specifics of the procedure and a timetable for the switch-hitter’s return were not known Tuesday.
Kochanowicz went 2-5 with a 6.19 ERA in 13 starts this season, striking out 47 and walking 36 in 64 innings.
The hard-throwing sinker-ball specialist went 2-1 with a 3.05 ERA in his first seven starts, but was ineffective during his next six starts, going 0-4 with an 11.91 ERA, striking out 17 and walking 15 in 22 2/3 innings.
Kochanowicz didn’t make it out of the first inning of Saturday night’s game in Dodger Stadium. He allowed seven runs and six hits in a third of an inning in an eventual 9-2 loss.
Kochanowicz’s fastball averaged 97 mph and touched 99 mph against the Dodgers, but he said after the game that his arm bothered him when he threw his changeup. An MRI on Monday revealed a tear of the ulnar collateral ligament.
“Honestly, I didn’t think this was in the cards,” Kochanowicz said before Tuesday's game against Houston. “I really thought it was just a little angry.
"I mean, my velo was fine, the fastballs, everything was fine. It really was just the changeup.
“I thought it was just kind of general soreness. … I thought I was going to hear back today that it was all right, but man, it is what it is.”
Manager Kurt Suzuki said the Angels are “still evaluating" their options for Kochanowicz’s replacement in the rotation. Among the candidates are left-hander Sam Aldegheri and Triple-A right-handers Caden Dana and George Klassen.
Moncada, 31, who signed a one-year, $4-million deal with the Angels in February, was placed on the injured list because of right-knee inflammation on May 22 and transferred to the 60-day injured list on Monday.
He hit .189 with a .605 OPS, three homers and 10 RBIs in 41 games and was more unproductive from the right side, with one hit in 21 at-bats (.048). Suzuki said Denzer Guzman, who was recalled from Triple-A on Monday, will get most of the playing time at third base.
“We don’t know if it’s a cleanup or a tear,” Suzuki said of Moncada. “We’ll know more after it gets done.”
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