White Sox' Mike Vasil to undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The White Sox bullpen took a major hit after the team announced that Mike Vasil would be undergoing season-ending Tommy John surgery.

“I think for me and all these years of being able to pitch healthy and throwing a lot of innings, it’s just something that happens in today’s game,” Vasil said Monday. “Sometimes you can’t avoid it.”

Vasil exited Saturday’s game after throwing 3 ⅔ innings. He said he felt something in his elbow after walking Max Muncy and wanted to proceed with caution. He said Tuesday that he “knew something was off.” He said the next day he knew that the injury was more serious than he imagined. He said the tests revealed that the injury was likely inevitable due to wear-and-tear over time. Logging a lot of injuries comes with a debt that comes due eventually. He will have surgery on April 2 and the surgery will be performed by Dr. Keith Meister in Texas.

“I’m going to do everything in my power to make it as speedy and also take the precautionary measures so that I’m back and I’m ready,” Vasil said.

The injury is a blow to the bullpen and clubhouse. Vasil is a connector, someone whose boisterous personality permeates throughout the locker room. On the mound, he was one of their more dependable arms, able to handle a multitude of roles and rack up innings — he was one of five Sox pitchers to throw at least 100 innings.

Without Vasil, the Sox will have to replace what he brings in terms of eating innings and serving in that multi-inning role. The injury can open the door for one of the Rule 5 draft selections — Jedixson Paez or Alexander Alberto —to make the team out of camp. It also opens the door for left-hander Chris Murphy, who entered camp with a shot at being in the rotation before settling into a bullpen role.