The St. Louis Cardinals announced that closer Jordan Hicks has been diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and will undergo Tommy John surgery on Wednesday, as Cardinals president John Mozeliak tells St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Derrick Goold. Hicks was previously diagnosed with tendinitis in his right triceps and the issue forced him to leave Saturday's game early.
With Hicks set to undergo Tommy John, the second-year reliever will miss the rest of this season and at least part of the 2020 season. The club will get a more definite timeline once Hicks is done with surgery and moves on to rehab.
Hicks, 22, has converted 14 of 15 save opportunities for St. Louis in 29 appearances this season. He owns a 3.14 ERA and 0.94 WHIP with 31 strikeouts and 11 walks over 28 2/3 innings. The hard-throwing righty owns the 21 fastest pitches thrown this year in MLB, with the top pitch at 104.3 miles per hour.
With Hicks out, the Cardinals are likely to turn to Carlos Martinez for the closer role, as Goold notes. They also have the in-house options of Giovanny Gallegos, John Gant and Andrew Miller in the bullpen, but could be another team looking for relief help ahead of the July 31 trade deadline.
