White Sox Pitching Nightmare! Berroa and Carela to Undergo Tommy John Surgery
Chicago White Sox pitchers Prelander Berroa and Juan Carela both require Tommy John surgery, the team confirmed to Sox Machine’s James Fegan and several other reporters Friday afternoon.
Both surgeries will be season-ending. Dr. Keith Meister, the Texas Rangers‘ team physician for the past 22 years and one of the most prominent elbow surgeons in baseball, will perform the procedures in the coming days.
Berroa and Carela were both with the White Sox at spring training.
Berroa took the mound once on Feb. 22, but left the game with a trainer after giving up three hits, a walk and two earned runs to the five batters he faced. He was diagnosed with a Grade 1 right elbow sprain the next day, but it appears there was also damage to his UCL.
After making his MLB debut with the Seattle Mariners in 2023, Berroa got dealt to Chicago the following February. The 24-year-old went 1-0 with a 3.32 ERA, 1.474 WHIP, 12.3 strikeouts per nine innings and a 0.4 WAR in 17 relief appearances with the White Sox last season.
Berroa was slated to compete for a larger role in Chicago’s bullpen in 2025 before he got shelved.
Carela tossed 1.0 scoreless inning on Feb. 23 and did not make another Cactus League appearance in the ensuing two weeks. The White Sox optioned him to Double-A on Friday, before the news of his impending surgery came out.
Chicago initially acquired Carela from the New York Yankees at the 2023 trade deadline, getting him back in the Keynan Middleton deal. He is currently ranked as the No. 21 prospect in the White Sox’s farm system, having gone 7-7 with a 3.71 ERA across 23 High-A and Double-A starts in 2024.
