As discussed yesterday, the Yankees moved outfield prospect Everson Pereira to the full-season injured list, but the reason for it was finally announced. Andy Martino of SNY reported that the 23-year-old outfielder will need Tommy John Surgery, which indicates that there was a significant tear of the UCL. This is a crushing blow for Pereira, who was on their 40-man roster and made his MLB debut last season, as he hoped he would be able to get some playing time in the situation where someone was to get hurt at the Major League level.
Unfortunately, he won’t get a chance to play affiliated baseball for the rest of the season, and Pereira will have to set his eyes on the 2025 season instead.
Everson Pereira Will Need Elbow Surgery, Yankees Lose Depth Outfielder
This was an important season for Everson Pereira, who was exposed by MLB pitching last season, but the Yankees were hoping some more time in Triple-A would serve him well. The strikeout issues were just too much for a big-league role, but the power and athleticism certainly created a lot of excitement around his profile. Once the Yankees traded for Alex Verdugo and Juan Soto, it was a foregone conclusion that he wouldn’t open the season with the team.
In 40 games with the Scranton RailRiders, Everson Pereira hit .265 with 10 home runs, but his strikeout rate still remained extremely high (32.4%). While he started trending in the right direction, this unfortunate UCL tear will halt any progression he can make until next season. Andy Martino followed up the initial report regarding Tommy John Surgery with a report stating that he might get a similar procedure to the one Jasson Dominguez got last September.
Based on that timeline, there’s a chance that we could see the 23-year-old outfielder recover and rehab in time for the start of the 2025 season. While this season was supposed to be his last with a Minor League option, this injury could grant the Yankees an extra option year for Pereira since he didn’t spend 90 days on the active roster in 2024. We’ll see how that turns out, but this injury also removes him from the 40-man roster until he’s activated off of the IL, which can’t happen until next year.