MIAMI -- Marlins right-hander Max Meyer underwent successful season-ending left hip labral repair surgery on Friday, the club announced. The procedure was performed by Dr. Thomas Byrd in Nashville, Tenn.
The recovery timeline is between six to eight months.
"It's obviously tough," Meyer said on Wednesday ahead of the club's game vs. the Twins. "I kind of thought about it after the cortisone shot didn't do much, and then having to go in and check up with Dr. Byrd, and him kind of saying that realistically, this is the only chance of it getting better. If I'm not reacting to the cortisone shot, then I knew I probably had to do it, just based on my symptoms and just daily life, not being able to do a lot of stuff. You've just got to do what you've got to do."
Miami initially placed Meyer on the 15-day injured list with a left hip impingement on June 3, less than 24 hours after he allowed five runs (four earned) on 10 hits with five strikeouts and one walk over five innings against the Rockies.
It had been the latest rough outing for Meyer, who had posted a 7.01 ERA (27 ER in 34 2/3 IP) over his last seven starts. Prior to that stretch, he had put together a 2.10 ERA (7 ER in 30 IP) over his first five starts, with four consecutive quality starts.
“I don't think we thought it was at the point where [surgery] was on the table,” manager Clayton McCullough said of the severity. “It was just some crankiness, having some soreness. It got to the point where it was affecting him more and more, especially his last outing, the one before. And I think, with the time off when we put him on the IL, hoping that just some rest would calm it down some, and then a non-surgical, rest kind of rehab.
“We were hoping [he’d have] the chance to come back and pitch this year, but it just never really turned a corner much, even as he had the time off. So going to get another look at it. Felt at that point now, with the further information, and not really trending in a real great direction, that the best thing for him and us was to look to ‘26 and get it right.”
On June 18, while speaking with a small group of reporters, Meyer said he was “probably” going to visit Dr. Byrd to check on his hip and decide the next course of action. When asked if he was feeling better, Meyer responded: “I guess no comment, really, for now, because I don't know what's going on. But definitely it'll be a little bit.”
Turns out it had gotten to the point where Meyer had trouble getting in and out of a car. When waking up, Meyer's hip felt like it was out of its socket.
This marks the fourth consecutive season that an injury has limited Meyer's time on the mound. He sustained a right UCL tear during his second Major League start in 2022 and soon after underwent Tommy John surgery, which made him miss the entirety of '23. Right shoulder bursitis sidelined Meyer last September.
Meyer’s injury ended what was shaping up to be a promising campaign. He went 3-5 with a 4.73 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP in a career-high 12 starts. He also had career marks for innings (64 2/3), K/9 (9.5) and BB/9 (2.8).
"It's obviously really frustrating," said Meyer, who will be on crutches for a month. "I've got to figure something out, whether it's my body or whatever I have to do. We'll try to game plan something in the offseason, whether it's take a deep dive in my mechanics or whatnot. But I can do it. I just don't know how yet, and I'm just excited to get back on the mound."
During the pregame scrum on June 22, pitching coach Daniel Moskos compared Meyer’s hip issue to that of Cubs veteran Drew Smyly, who overlapped with Moskos in 2024 on the North Side.
“We did a dive after the fact,” Moskos said of Meyer’s injury. “He did have a prior injury in there that maybe got aggravated. It's tough. He was moving faster, he was stronger. He was able to create more, which makes the task of accepting force a little bit tougher of a burden. …
“It's not just about force production, it's about force acceptance in the delivery and momentum transfer. And at times, there's just a disconnect there, and unfortunately for Max, it caused a hip thing to flare up. And to me, that's just more of the task of breaking the delivery or like bracing for the delivery, just became a little bit tougher on him and just like the constant wear and tear ended up getting him to a place where we needed to give him a break.”