Phillies outfielder Cristian Pache to undergo elbow surgery, return date uncertain

A few days ago, Phildelphia Phillies’ outfielder Cristian Pache was placed on the 10-day IL due to right elbow irritation, but now it turns out he may be out longer than expected.

On Sunday, Phillies’ manager Rob Thomson stated that Pache will undergo surgery to remove a screw from his right throwing elbow that was a result from a previous surgery. He will now be out for a few weeks, but he is expected to be back before the end of the season.

Apparently, the old screw was now protruding from his elbow, which obviously sounds quite painful, so it is a surgery Pache certainly wouldn’t bypass for his sake and well being.

Unfortunately, the untimely setback interrupted a pretty solid season for Pache so far in 2023. Despite playing in a part-time role for the Phillies this year, Pache was having the best season of his career so far number-wise, as in 49 at-bats, he has produced a .327 batting average, .957 OPS, with eight runs scored, seven doubles, two home runs and eight RBI. Having moved around from Atlanta, to Oakland, and finally to Philadelphia, it appears as though Pache has finally found his comfort home with the Phillies, putting his previous struggles behind him.

In addition, despite the limited playing time, he has been used frequently as a defensive replacement and in doing so, he is currently among the Phillies’ defensive leaders in DRS with 5 in only 31 games played. Given a longer runway, Pache probably would have had the chance to really show the Phillies what he could provide the team down the stretch, but now with the unexpected surgery arising, it appears as though he will have to wait again for his chance down the road.

Hopefully, he will be back with team some time before the end of the season and provide some impact to help the team in their quest for the playoffs. For now, we wish him a speedy recovery and good health.