Astros: Alex Bregman undergoes arthroscopic elbow surgery

The Houston Astros have announced third baseman Alex Bregman underwent arthroscopic surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow.

Dr. Thomas Mehlhoff performed the elbow surgery this morning on the Astros‘ All-Star infielder Alex Bregman to remove foreign bodies in his elbow. Bregman will be on a limited basis at the beginning of Spring Training, but expects to be ready to go come regular season.

Bregman contacted the team around New Year’s Day complaining of discomfort in his elbow. After further examination the loose bodies were discovered. Astros’ GM Jeff Luhnow and Bregman made the decision to go ahead with the surgery to remove them.

“It’s a decision that he made together with us to take care of it now,” Luhnow said. “I think he probably could have been fine playing with it this season, but if it became symptomatic this season, we’d be losing games and doing it now allows us to get him back before the season starts.”

He joins Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa in the department of rehabbing this offseason following surgery. Altuve had surgery to repair a fractured kneecap and Correa had repair done on a deviated septum. All three are expected to be healthy at the start of the season.

“Given the way he works and the way he gets up to speed, I’m not really concerned that he’s going to miss any season time,” Luhnow said. “He should have enough of a spring training to get ready.”

Bregman had a superb season last year finishing fifth in the American League MVP voting. His 2018 slash line was .286/.394/.532 hitting 31 HRs and a league leading 51 doubles, all while knocking in 103 runs. Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez and Lou Gehrig are the only other major league players to eclipse 50 doubles and 30 HRs in a season before turning 25.