St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Packy Naughton was on his way to making one of the all-time comebacks this spring. After suffering numerous arm injuries since he was drafted in 2017, Naughton finally made his 2026 debut on Wednesday with the Memphis Redbirds, the Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliate.
Unfortunately, Packy Naughton’s comeback lasted just three pitches before he suffered yet another devastating injury to his throwing arm.
Naughton, who the Cincinnati Reds drafted in the ninth round of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft after three years at Virginia Tech, came into the game pitching well.
The comeback was looking good after Spring Training
In seven Spring Training appearances for the Cardinals, Naughton allowed just one earned run over seven innings, striking out eight and walking just one batter. It was the first time he had pitched in a game since tearing the flexor tendon in his left elbow (for a second time) and undergoing Tommy John surgery in July 2024.
In the off-season after his surgery, the Cardinals re-signed Naughton to a two-year contract, with the understanding that he would miss the entire 2025 season but would hopefully be a part of the team’s bullpen in 2026.
“Even after the first pitch, it was kind of a sigh of relief,” Naughton told KDSK News during Spring Training. “Elbow was intact, everything was good to go. All the work I’ve done; it paid off.”
That injury came after undergoing season–ending surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his left elbow in June 2023. Prior to that injury, in his second year with the Cardinals, he had not allowed a run in four relief appearances and had struck out five batters in five innings.
Then it all came crashing down, again
It all came to an end, again, on Wednesday, when, after throwing a 1-1 pitch to Charlotte catcher Korey Lee, he immediately grabbed his left elbow and bent over in pain.
“That’s never a good sign. Hopefully nothing too serious there, just something he was trying to be cautious about,” said Charlotte Knights broadcaster Matt Swierad.
The severity of his injury has yet to be confirmed, but based on the video and his injury history, the comeback may now finally, and sadly, be over.