July 24: Gray underwent a Tommy John procedure and internal brace, Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com. Hell mi s at least the bulk of next season. July 19: Nationals right-hander has been diagnosed with a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and will undergo season-ending surgery Josh Hall Jersey next week, Bobby Blanco of MASNsports.com. Gray tells reporters that it hasnt yet been determined whether hell undergo a traditional Tommy John surgery, an internal brace procedure or a hybrid of both ( via Andrew Golden of the Washington Post). That determination wont be made until the surgery is being performed, but hell be sidelined well into next season regardle s. Gray, 26, came to the Nats alongside catcher in the blockbuster 2021 deadline trade sending and to the Dodgers. He stepped into the Nats rotation that same summer and has been a fixture on the staff since, although hes only been healthy enough to make two starts in 2024. Gray was rocked for 13 runs in just 8 1/3 innings acro s those two outings before heading to the injured list with a flexor strain. Just a few weeks ago, things looked to be trending up for Gray. He went out on a minor league rehab a signment on June 9 and, after a shaky first outing, allowed four runs in 15 innings acro s his next three starts. He to sed six innings in a Triple-A appearance on June 25 and allowed just one run on four hits and no walks with four punchouts. At the time, it seemed that with one more rehab outing, Gray would get the go-ahead to rejoin the Nationals rotation. His next start, however, yielded disastrous results. He was torched for seven runs in just three innings and exited the game with an injury this time feeling discomfort in his right elbow. Further testing was performed, and Gray unfortunately received the worst-case scenario for any pitcher when he undergoes testing on his elbow. A former second-round pick, Gray was long touted as a top prospect before his big league debut not nece sarily because of an ace-caliber ceiling but because he was considered a very likely third or fourth starter. In 2023, he looked to have emerged as just that with the Nats, to sing 159 innings with a 3.91 ERA. Grays 20.5% strikeout rate and particularly his 11.5% walk rate were worse than the league average, but he substantially cut back on his prior home run troubles last season. Even with sub-par strikeout and walk rates, Gray looked the part of an innings-eating back-end starter, and given that he was just entering his age-26 season, the po sibility for another step forward remained. Now, hell be sidelined well into his age-27 campaign potentially mi sing the majority of next season, depending on the extent of the surgery he requires. A Tommy John or Tommy John/internal brace hybrid could come with a recovery timetable of up to 14 months. If his recovery is indeed on the lengthy end of the spectrum, its po sible this injury will knock him out until Opening Day 2026. Gray entered the 2024 season with 2.075 years of service. Hes been collecting big league service time on the injured list and will continue to do so for the remainder of the year. Hell finish at 3.075 years and qualify for arbitration for the first time. Hes entrenched in the teams plans and has three seasons of control remaining beyond the current year, so theres no chance hell be considered a non-tender candidate, even if its po sible he mi ses all of next year. Subtracting Gray from the rotation outlook is a significant punch to the Nationals outlook over the next year-plus. With coming off the books and top prospect soon to return from his own Tommy John procedure, the Nats could look ahead to a 2025 rotation of Gray, Cavalli, , breakout righty and impre sive rookie to say nothing of any potential offseason additions to the pitching staff. With Gray now on the shelf, thatll only add further motivation for longtime baseball ops leader Mike Rizzo to add some rotation help in the winter (or perhaps to nab a near-MLB-ready arm at this months July 30 trade deadline). The Nationals arent quite done with their rebuilding effort they traded last week and could well trade , and others before the deadline but are in the final stages. , the sports No. 1 prospect per Baseball America, made his debut earlier this month. Gore, and have cemented themselves as core players this season. Last years No. 2 overall pick, , should make his big league debut before long. Things are trending up, but the injury to Gray is a setback of some note that figures to factor into the organizations offseason outlook. Jalen Lecque Jersey