The Philadelphia Phillies shared a tough update ahead of Friday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates top pitching prospect Moisés Chace will undergo Tommy John surgery, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Lochlahn March. The 21-year-old right-hander, acquired from the Orioles in last summer’s trade deadline deal, had been struggling with decreased velocity over six starts at Double-A Reading this season.
Chace, ranked as the Phillies’ No. 5 prospect by MLB Pipeline, was added to the 40-man roster last fall after an impressive late-season showing in 2023. However, in 16 2/3 innings this year, his performance dipped noticeably, with a 3.24 ERA, a 1.62 WHIP, and control issues raising red flags. The Phillies pulled him early in his latest outing and ordered further testing, which revealed the need for surgery a more serious issue than originally feared.
Moisés Chace’s Sudden Struggles Raised Concerns Before Tommy John Diagnosis
The news comes shortly after a report from The Athletic’s Matt Gelb, which criticized Chace’s conditioning entering spring training. Team officials reportedly felt he wasn’t physically prepared for his first major league camp and questioned whether he had done proper offseason work.
“The Phillies were concerned when Chace reported to his first big-league spring training not in the best pitching shape,” Gelb wrote, noting uncertainty over whether he had thrown at all from a mound while home in Venezuela.
Initially, the team did not believe Chace was injured and continued to let him pitch until things worsened. The surgery now offers a clearer explanation for the drop in fastball velocity from 94.4 mph in 2023 to 90.8 mph this year. It remains uncertain how much conditioning played a role in the injury, but the setback is a blow for both Chace and the Phillies’ future plans.
As the centerpiece of the Gregory Soto trade with Baltimore, Chace’s addition to the 40-man roster last year underscored his value to the organization. With Tommy John recovery typically taking 10–12 months, Chace is now out for the remainder of 2024 and will likely aim for a mid-2025 return at best.
