Yahoo Lifestyle Tim Tebow's baseball season is over due to July hand injury
Tim Tebow will not make his MLB debut this season, and it’s not because the suddenly hot New York Mets don’t have room for him on the major league roster.
Newsday’s Tim Healey first reported that the former college football standout will miss the remainder of the season as he continues healing from a hand injury suffered in July.
Yahoo Sports’ Matt Ehalt has since confirmed the news.
As @timbhealey first reported, Tim Tebow's season is over.
Due to the upcoming rule changes regarding rosters, this potentially ends his chances of ever being a major leaguer.— Matt Ehalt (@MattEhalt) August 10, 2019
Tebow suffered a cut that required eight stitches in his left hand. He was injured while fielding a ball in the outfield, Syracuse Mets manager Tony DeFrancesco told reporters on July 23.
It’s the second straight year Tebow’s baseball season has come to an early end. He was shut down in late July of 2018 after suffering a broken bone in his hand. That ended his All-Star season with Double-A Binghamton.
Disappointing season
Coming off a breakthrough season in Double A, there had been some buzz in spring training that maybe Tebow would get the call up to the big leagues at some point this season.
Those talks were quickly squashed after Tebow got off to a slow start. Unfortunately, there was only minimal improvement as the season progressed.
Tebow finished 2019 with a .163/.240/.255 slashline to go along with four homers, 19 RBIs and 98 strikeouts in 77 games.
Though even with a good season, Tebow’s MLB chances took a hit thanks to the Mets’ recent surge into the postseason picture. There’s no room for an unproven commodity when every game matters.
What’s next for Tim Tebow?
In the immediate future, he’ll return to his role as a college football analyst for ESPN and SEC Network.
As for his baseball aspirations, time is running out for the soon-to-be 32-year-old. This felt like a make-or-break season in terms of proving he could contribute and potentially sustain a role at the big league level.
While it’s said that the Mets want and expect Tebow back next season, MLB’s new roster rules will certainly his chances of making even a brief MLB appearance. With MLB going to a 26-man roster through August and only allowing teams to expand the roster to 28 in September beginning in 2020, Tebow’s chance get much smaller.
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