Eury Pérez on schedule to complete Tommy John rehab in June

MIAMI, Fla.—Eury Pérez may be coming back sooner than anticipated.

The Miami Marlins pitching phenom underwent Tommy John surgery in April of last year. Up until spring training this year, it was widely reported that he was on pace to complete the rehab process around the All-Star break in mid-July.

Barring setbacks, Pérez is now scheduled to resurface in the majors in June. 

The 22-year-old right-hander made his return to a game mound on April 26 with Low-A Jupiter. He threw 19 pitches and topped out at 98.4 mph. He used his entire arsenal. It was more of the same on Thursday, this time stretching out a bit further to 26 pitches.

“Even though it's a minor league game, it's actually a baseball game,” Pérez said Friday through an interpreter. “I'm out there, I'm competing, I'm back on the mound, I'm doing what I love to do. It was very exciting for me just to be back there competing.”

“Reports were very good,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. “Another really positive step for Eury.  He feels great. And I think with each one he gets under his belt, I think he gets more and more excited about what's ahead. And we'll just hope that he just continues to feel strong and healthy after each outing.”

After one more outing in Jupiter, the Marlins intend to transfer Pérez's rehab to Triple-A Jacksonville. The plan is for him to make five starts for the Jumbo Shrimp. With five to six days between each start, he's in line to be reinstated sometime during the Marlins road trip that runs from June 6-15.

Most minor league rehab assignments are limited to 30 days for pitchers, but there is an exception for those returning from Tommy John surgery—they can request up to three 10-day extensions (60 total days). The Marlins will be utilizing at least one of those extensions to carefully build up Pérez's pitch count. 

Pérez told the media that he has been recovering well after each outing and pitch design session. He is also going to work on his sweeper and sinker, expanding upon his pre-injury four-seamer/slider/curveball/changeup pitch mix.

Pérez was the consensus top prospect in the Marlins organization when he was called up in 2023. In 19 starts that season, he finished with a 3.15 ERA, including six scoreless outings. The team controversially optioned him to the minor leagues midway through that summer in order to manage his workload and prioritize his long-term health. His UCL blew out the following year despite those efforts.

Ryan Weathers, who suffered a forearm strain in his throwing arm this spring training, has also made a pair of rehab starts, most recently with Triple-A Jacksonville on Friday. He's been stretched out to 62 pitches. A return to the Marlins rotation could be play in for Weathers during the week of May 12.

In the absences of Pérez and Weathers, Marlins starting pitchers have combined for an MLB-worst 6.69 ERA in 2025.