Rays Prospect Brent Honeywell Undergoes Another Elbow Procedure in Latest Brutal Setback

The Tampa Bay Rays selected Brent Honeywell Jr. in the second round of the 2014 MLB Draft. He was in Triple-A by 2017 and appeared to be headed for the Rays rotation. Then the injuries struck.

Honeywell missed the 2018 and 2019 seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery and dealing with another injury during his recovery. Unfortunately, he has just had another procedure in what will hopefully be the last one before he gets his career back on track.

In a Zoom media call today, the #Rays Kyle Snyder said Brent Honeywell's "kept his spirits about as high as anyone can expect" after the decompression procedure on his right ulnar nerve. Snyder is hopeful the recent procedure is the last hiccup Honeywell will go through.
— Neil Solondz (@neilsolondz) May 22, 2020

Honeywell's injuries have been to his throwing elbow and that is always a terrible sign for pitchers. Before the injuries he amassed a record of 31-19 in the minors with a 2.88 ERA. He was regularly throwing over 100 innings per year and started the 2017 All-Star Futures Game.

#Rays Honeywell has had another setback, and now a third elbow surgery since he last pitched in a game, in Sept. 2017. With all the uncertainties, it may well be 2021 until he is pitching againhttps://t.co/0ew6rgAD6i
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) May 21, 2020

One potential positive is that having a shortened season in 2020 will give Honeywell an excuse to strictly focus on rehab without trying to rush back. Yet he is 25 years old, and such ailments are surely testing his patience.