Justin Steele Undergoes Elbow Surgery

Justin Steele pitched his best outing of the season on April 7 against the Rangers, but he began feeling discomfort in his left elbow a few innings in. He finished with seven scoreless innings, striking out eight with three hits and two walks, but was then placed on the IL with what was being called elbow tendinitis. That diagnosis went out the window quickly when it was revealed that Steele would be seeking a second opinion after imaging revealed something worse.

Any subsequent opinions must have been the same as the first, because Steele was quickly scheduled for season-ending elbow surgery. He underwent that surgery on Friday morning and came out in relatively good spirits, as he shared via social media.

Appreciate the prayers and thoughts.. ?? God is good pic.twitter.com/7ovr23GEtT

— Justin Steele (@J_Steele21) April 18, 2025

We don’t yet know exactly what procedure was performed, whether it was traditional Tommy John reconstruction like he had several years ago in the minors or the newer InternalBrace procedure. That latter surgery typically leads to faster recovery by using two PEEK SwiveLock anchors loaded with collagen-coated FiberTape suture and a #0 FiberWire repair suture to reinforce, or brace, the repaired ligament.

Some, notably renowned muscle physiology researcher Dr. Keith Baar, argue that this can result in the live tissue being weaker and more susceptible to re-injury, though there isn’t enough long-term data to support concrete analysis. I suppose that’s something we can dive into later once we know more about what Steele had done. For now, we can just hope for a full recovery in due time.