TAMPA -- Marlins right-hander Eury Pérez's long road back to a Major League mound will end Monday. That's when he will start against the Pirates in Pittsburgh, marking his return from 2024 Tommy John surgery.
"Very anxious and excited to just go out there and to compete with all of my teammates and get back to the game," Pérez said via interpreter Luis Dorante Jr. following the Marlins' 3-2 loss to the Rays on Sunday at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
Pérez pitched into the fifth inning of his final rehab start on Tuesday night, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits with four strikeouts and three walks in 4 1/3 frames with Triple-A Jacksonville.
Over eight starts on his rehab assignment, Pérez posted a 1.99 ERA (five earned in 22 2/3 frames) between Single-A Jupiter (five starts) and Jacksonville (three starts). He completed five frames once; his 82 pitches on Tuesday were the most he had thrown while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. He also reached a max velocity of 99.3 mph in a fifth-inning strikeout during that game.
A rotation spot opened for Pérez once Max Meyer landed on the 15-day injured list with a left hip impingement. The Marlins didn't need a fifth starter until Monday, when they begin their second leg of a three-city road trip at PNC Park, so Pérez slots into the series opener.
"I think we're all excited," manager Clayton McCullough said. "Organizationally, there’s excitement. Fan base as well. Eury has put in a lot of hard work to get himself back to this point."
Pérez’s highly anticipated return will come 20 months after he last pitched on a big league mound (Sept. 20, 2023) as a highly regarded rookie. He was shut down during the final week of that season and missed the postseason with left SI joint inflammation.
Though Pérez entered 2024 Spring Training full-go, he experienced right elbow soreness on March 14 and alerted the training team after exiting his Grapefruit League outing the day before due to discomfort from a broken nail on his right middle finger.
When Pérez traveled to Texas to see Dr. Keith Meister, testing revealed mild right elbow inflammation and no structural damage. He began playing catch a couple days later, per the recommendation of Meister, and had been scheduled to progress to throwing a bullpen session. But after Pérez felt tightness in his elbow during that session, Meister determined that Tommy John surgery with an internal brace was necessary.
Pérez underwent Tommy John surgery on April 8, 2024, then played catch for the first time four months later. He began his eight-start rehab assignment on April 26 with Jupiter.
“I took all this time to work on my body, right? But also getting to know me," Pérez said. "I got to know myself a little more -- knowing when my body is feeling good, when my body is feeling bad. Most important is that I'm just going to be back, and I'm going to continue a positive mentality.”
Pérez acknowledged that while no pitcher particularly likes going through the grind of coming back from TJ surgery, having his close friend and mentor Sandy Alcantara rehabbing alongside him made the process "a little bit better."
Alcantara underwent Tommy John surgery about six months before Pérez -- Oct. 6, 2023 -- and didn't return to action until Opening Day this year. Throughout his own road to recovery, Alcantara imparted advice to the 22-year-old Pérez about what to do with each step of his rehab.
Pérez said the best advice he received from Alcantara was to take each step seriously to ensure that he will be strong and fully ready in his return.
"I'm very grateful for the fact that at the end of the day, we were able to do this and came through together," Pérez said.