Angels Reliever Robert Stephenson Misses 2026 Season After Elbow Surgery

Three years into a three-year, $33 million contract, Robert Stephenson has pitched a total of 10 innings for the Los Angeles Angels. A second major elbow surgery will ensure that number does not change in 2026.

The Angels announced before their April 8 game against the Atlanta Braves that Stephenson had undergone ligament and flexor tendon repair surgery on his right elbow and would miss the entire 2026 season. Manager Kurt Suzuki relayed the news to MLB.com reporter Rhett Bollinger before the team absorbed an 8-2 loss. "This guy wants to pitch, this guy wants to be good," Suzuki said, "so this is heartbreaking."

The surgery is Stephenson's second significant elbow procedure since signing with Los Angeles. In May 2024, he underwent a UCL repair with an internal brace, a procedure similar in scope to traditional Tommy John surgery, which cost him the entire 2024 season. He returned in 2025 to make 12 MLB appearances and eight minor-league rehab outings, posting a 2.70 ERA and 1.00 WHIP with a 10:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 10 innings. Elbow inflammation ended that year early too.

Spring Training 2026 brought fresh obstacles. Stephenson had dealt with thoracic outlet syndrome symptoms during the offseason and attempted to pitch through them into camp before being placed on the 60-day injured list late in Spring Training with elbow inflammation. At Tempe Diablo Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, Stephenson fought back tears during a media availability when confronting the prospect of missing yet another full season. The latest surgical news confirmed that fear was well founded.

The Angels hold a $2.5 million option on Stephenson for the 2027 season, a provision triggered by his missed time. Given two major elbow procedures in three years and just 12 MLB appearances to show for the investment, general manager Perry Minasian is unlikely to exercise it.

The absence complicates an already unsettled bullpen. Kenley Jansen departed in free agency, and Minasian had acknowledged the team was undecided on whether to add an established closer. With Stephenson now sidelined and Ben Joyce managing shoulder issues of his own, Jordan Romano has taken on higher-leverage responsibility in a relief corps that lacks clear late-inning definition.

Stephenson, 33, was once among the most celebrated young arms in the game. Born in Martinez, California, he was the 27th overall pick of the 2011 MLB Draft, selected by the Cincinnati Reds out of Alhambra High School for a $2 million bonus. Baseball America ranked him as the Reds' top prospect for three consecutive seasons from 2014 to 2016 and named him the Best Pitching Prospect in the Southern League in 2014. He made his major-league debut on April 7, 2016 with Cincinnati. After years as a struggling starter, he reinvented himself as a reliever with the Colorado Rockies from 2021 to 2023, earned a $1.75 million deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2023, and also spent time with the Tampa Bay Rays before the Angels made their far larger investment. His career strikeout total stands at 416.

The contract was built on what Stephenson could become. Two elbow surgeries in three years have left that question unanswered, and increasingly difficult to revisit.