Matthew Allan underwent UCL revision surgery in January

Feb 4, 2023 - 6:59 PM

According to Will Sammon of The Athletic, Matthew Allan underwent UCL revision surgery in January. The procedure is, in effect, a second Tommy John surgery, revising the initial primary surgery. According to an abstract published in Current Reviews in Musculoskeletal Medicine, the “mean time between primary reconstruction and revision surgery is approximately 5 years and return to play rates range from 47 to 85%” and “outcomes following revision UCL reconstruction are relatively guarded compared with those of primary UCL reconstruction with the most studies reporting lower return to play rates, decreased workloads compared with pre-injury levels of play, and shorter career longevity following revision surgery.”

Allan, who was drafted by the Mets in the third-round of the 2019 MLB Draft, the 89th selection overall, underwent Tommy John surgery in May 2021. Just prior to the start of the 2022 season, Allan underwent ulnar transposition surgery, a common follow-up operation for those who have Tommy John. With a recovery of time between 3 to 6 months before he would be able to return to baseball activities, the chance remained for Allan to pitch in 2022, but he did not, getting as far as throwing on flat ground by the time the season ended.

Allan was the centerpiece of the Mets 2019 drafting strategy. Widely considered one of the premium high school pitching talents available, Marc Tramuta and Tommy Tanous carefully curated the second day of the draft around the right-hander, drafting inexpensive college seniors for the rest of day two in order to save money in their bonus pool. The two sides eventually agreed to a $2.5 million signing bonus, well above the $667,900 MLB-assigned slot bonus, bringing the Mets to the extreme limit of their bonus pool.

Since being drafted, Allan has pitched a total of 15.1 in 5 games with the GCL Mets and 3 games with the Brooklyn Cyclones. Only three players drafted after him on day two, Zach Ashford, Scott Ota, and Luke Ritter, are still in the organization. Nate Jones, Connor Wollersheim, and Joe Genord have all since been released, and Jake Mangum was traded to the Miami Marlins this past December. Brett Baty, the Mets’ first selection in the 2019 MLB Draft, received a cup of coffee in the majors last season and is on the cusp of presumably turning into a MLB contributor. With second-round pick Josh Wolf traded to the Cleveland Guardians and Allan’s development further impacted by this recent development, Baty is now seemingly the only player from the 2019 draft with an MLB ceiling.