Feb 24, 2021; Port Charlotte, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Tyler Zombro (39) pitches a simulated inning during spring training at Charlotte Sports Park Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
Tampa Bay Rays pitching prospect Tyler Zombro thanked fans for support as he recovers from a previously undisclosed brain surgery.
Neither the Rays nor the Triple-A Durham Bulls, Zombro’s team, had revealed the 26-year-old underwent the surgery in the aftermath of being hit in the head by a line drive while on the mound during a game earlier this month. Zombro was released from Duke University Hospital in Durham, N.C., a week ago.
“Unbelievably grateful to be in the situation I’m currently in with the incredible help from @DukeHospital & staff,” Zombro tweeted Thursday night. “To all of you that have showered my family and I with positive thoughts, I have no doubt that all of the prayer support kept God with me throughout that night.”
The photo accompanying the tweet showed Zombro in his hospital bed, half his head shaved, and the prominent scar that runs in a semicircle from his forehead to his ear.
Pitching for the Bulls on June 3, Zombro entered the game in the eighth inning against the Norfolk Tides and faced Brett Cumberland, who lined a 1-2 fastball off the side of the pitcher’s head. Zombro was taken from the field on a stretcher.
Zombro has a 1-1 record with a 3.18 ERA in nine relief outings this season. He has an 11-4 record with a 2.79 ERA in 97 games (three starts) since joining the Rays’ organization in 2017.
Zombro is undergoing outpatient therapy, and neither doctors nor the Rays have indicated whether he will be able to return to baseball. He is keeping that hope alive, however.
“Thank you again to the entire baseball community for the support, I’m one lucky guy and can’t wait to get back out there (whenever that is)! God Bless you all! #BULLieve,” he wrote in a second tweet.
–Field Level Media