Ricky Tiedemann may pitch in 2025, after all.

The Toronto Blue Jays top pitching prospect is well on his way to recovering from Tommy John surgery, which he underwent in late July a year ago after meeting with specialists Dr. Keith Meister and Dr. Neal ElAttrache.
Since then, Tiedemann has spent the last several months rehabbing at the organization&#8217;s player development complex in Dunedin, Fla., where he continues to regain strength and range of motion in his surgically repaired left elbow. And so far, he&#8217;s feeling great with how his arm feels this spring.
With how late in the year Tiedemann&#8217;s procedure was, most expected he&#8217;d probably miss the majority, if not all, of this season. But, as of now, he hopes to be back pitching off a mound in a competitive environment before the end of 2025, as the 22-year-old lefty told MLB.com&#8217;s Keegan Matheson on Friday.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Ran into Ricky Tiedemann this morning, who is doing well with his Tommy John rehab. He sounded really encouraged and relieved with how his elbow and arm are feeling compared to pre-surgery.
He’s targeting games by the end of the 2025 season. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlueJays?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BlueJays</a>
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) <a href="https://twitter.com/KeeganMatheson/status/1892961710840930692?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 21, 2025</a></blockquote>
There&#8217;s still a long way to go before Tiedemann can be cleared to return to game action. And when he is, the Blue Jays training staff will undoubtedly act with extreme caution due to his lengthy injury history, which has prevented him from logging more than 140 total innings in his professional career since becoming a third-round selection in 2021.
However, the possibility of having him pitch at all in &#8217;25 is incredibly encouraging. If nothing else, a late-season return would put him on a runway to hit the ground running next spring, where Toronto could have two vacant rotation spots with Chris Bassitt and Max Scherzer slated to hit free agency after this season.
The promising young southpaw has been electric when he&#8217;s been healthy for this organization. He dealt with command woes in 2024, a symptom of his elbow troubles, resulting in 12 walks over his nine innings of work at triple-A Buffalo, spanning just four starts. But he also displayed flashes of excellence, punching out 11 batters in that span, including a seven-strikeout performance on April 11 &#8212; his final start before hitting the IL with ulnar nerve inflammation.
Pitching injuries have, unfortunately, become a recurring theme for the Blue Jays in recent years. Entering this season, they have several prospects recovering from significant procedures, including Tiedemann, Brandon Barriera, Landen Maroudis, Chad Dallas, Nolan Perry, T.J. Brock, Connor Cooke, Carson Pierce and Adam Macko &#8212; who recently underwent knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus.
Alek Manoah is another arm that&#8217;s on the road to recovery this spring following last season&#8217;s Tommy John surgery. If all goes well, the former 2022 All-Star could rejoin Toronto&#8217;s staff at some point later this season, likely after the All-Star break.
Tiedemann, who&#8217;s Rule 5-eligible next winter, will attempt to work his way back to triple-A &#8212; where he&#8217;s made just five career starts &#8212; upon completing his Tommy John rehab. But if a need arises at the major-league level, particularly in the bullpen, there&#8217;s a chance, however minuscule, he could be used in short stints as a reliever during a potential playoff push in September.

Ricky Tiedemann may pitch in 2025, after all.



The Toronto Blue Jays top pitching prospect is well on his way to recovering from Tommy John surgery, which he underwent in late July a year ago after meeting with specialists Dr. Keith Meister and Dr. Neal ElAttrache.

Since then, Tiedemann has spent the last several months rehabbing at the organization's player development complex in Dunedin, Fla., where he continues to regain strength and range of motion in his surgically repaired left elbow. And so far, he's feeling great with how his arm feels this spring.

With how late in the year Tiedemann's procedure was, most expected he'd probably miss the majority, if not all, of this season. But, as of now, he hopes to be back pitching off a mound in a competitive environment before the end of 2025, as the 22-year-old lefty told MLB.com's Keegan Matheson on Friday.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Ran into Ricky Tiedemann this morning, who is doing well with his Tommy John rehab. He sounded really encouraged and relieved with how his elbow and arm are feeling compared to pre-surgery.
He’s targeting games by the end of the 2025 season. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlueJays?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BlueJays</a>

— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) <a href="https://twitter.com/KeeganMatheson/status/1892961710840930692?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 21, 2025</a></blockquote>
There's still a long way to go before Tiedemann can be cleared to return to game action. And when he is, the Blue Jays training staff will undoubtedly act with extreme caution due to his lengthy injury history, which has prevented him from logging more than 140 total innings in his professional career since becoming a third-round selection in 2021.

However, the possibility of having him pitch at all in '25 is incredibly encouraging. If nothing else, a late-season return would put him on a runway to hit the ground running next spring, where Toronto could have two vacant rotation spots with Chris Bassitt and Max Scherzer slated to hit free agency after this season.

The promising young southpaw has been electric when he's been healthy for this organization. He dealt with command woes in 2024, a symptom of his elbow troubles, resulting in 12 walks over his nine innings of work at triple-A Buffalo, spanning just four starts. But he also displayed flashes of excellence, punching out 11 batters in that span, including a seven-strikeout performance on April 11 -- his final start before hitting the IL with ulnar nerve inflammation.

Pitching injuries have, unfortunately, become a recurring theme for the Blue Jays in recent years. Entering this season, they have several prospects recovering from significant procedures, including Tiedemann, Brandon Barriera, Landen Maroudis, Chad Dallas, Nolan Perry, T.J. Brock, Connor Cooke, Carson Pierce and Adam Macko -- who recently underwent knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus.

Alek Manoah is another arm that's on the road to recovery this spring following last season's Tommy John surgery. If all goes well, the former 2022 All-Star could rejoin Toronto's staff at some point later this season, likely after the All-Star break.

Tiedemann, who's Rule 5-eligible next winter, will attempt to work his way back to triple-A -- where he's made just five career starts -- upon completing his Tommy John rehab. But if a need arises at the major-league level, particularly in the bullpen, there's a chance, however minuscule, he could be used in short stints as a reliever during a potential playoff push in September.

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