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Report: MRI shows Cardinals' Reyes likely needs Tommy John surgery

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The St. Louis Cardinals' worst fears were realized Tuesday after an MRI on Alex Reyes' right elbow revealed he'll likely require Tommy John surgery to repair a partial tear of his ulnar collateral ligament, reports FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal.

Reyes will, however, seek a second opinion, Rosenthal adds.

After explaining to reporters he was absent from the first day of pitcher workouts due to not being medically cleared, Reyes was sent for an MRI and manager Mike Matheny immediately sensed something was wrong.

"I don't like MRIs," Matheny said earlier Tuesday. "I would rather he wasn’t getting that right now. There must be a significant reason to do it."

The Cardinals rookie - rated the top pitching prospect in baseball, according to MLBPipeline.com - had a stellar debut campaign last season. In 12 games with St. Louis - five starts - the hard-throwing right-hander crafted a 1.57 ERA in 46 innings and struck out 52 of the 189 batters he faced.

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