Chicago Cubs relievers Codi Heuer (fractured elbow) and Brandon Hughes (knee surgery) out for the season

The Chicago Cubs bullpen will be without right-hander Codi Heuer and left-hander Brandon Hughes for the rest of the season because of surgeries that could impact their start to next year.

Heuer, while on rehab assignment at Triple-A Iowa from Tommy John surgery in March 2022, suffered a fractured elbow throwing a pitch Tuesday in Iowa. Heuer underwent surgery Friday in Chicago that required screws and wires to put the lower end of his humerus back in place. The funny bone nerve also needed to be moved to fix the fracture.

Heuer’s timeline to return is somewhat uncertain. He could be out up to 12 months — an estimated four months for his elbow fracture to heal and around a six-month recovery to build back up, depending on how cautious the team wants to be — with a spring training return the most optimistic outcome.

Fortunately, Heuer’s repaired ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) appears to be intact. Even so, he faces another long road to recovery. This type of injury has been seen from pitchers who had Tommy John surgery. Heuer’s UCL was likely stronger than the surrounding bone, leading to the fracture.

Heuer hasn’t pitched in a major-league game since Sept. 29, 2021.

“You knew in real time that he’d done something serious,” president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said Saturday. “My heart just breaks for him given how hard he worked to get back and the fact that it’d been 15 months, we’d been conservative with him. We felt like he was definitely on the right track because the outing prior had been a pretty good outing and certainly he was a guy that had put himself on the radar and was part of discussions to come back.

“Obviously I don’t know what the future holds for him, but like I said, my heart breaks for him given how hard he worked to get back and how much he cares.”

The timing of the Heuer’s traumatic injury is particularly devastating because he was already eligible to come off the 60-day injured list and was positioned to rejoin the Cubs soon. Heuer, who turns 27 on July 3, was in his 15th rehab appearance with Iowa when the injury occurred.

The Cubs envisioned Hughes being a big part of their 2023 bullpen. However, his season will be over after a distal femoral osteotomy is performed at the end of the month. Hughes is estimated to be sidelined nine months.

The procedure involves breaking the leg above the femur bone and then realigning the knee and leg. The bone requires six months to heal before he can begin the rehab phase. The hope is the correction will prevent Hughes from putting pressure on the area of his left knee that is missing the cartilage by making his more bow legged and ease the knee discomfort he experienced.

It’s the same procedure reliever Michael Fulmer went through earlier in his career. Hughes will use the same surgeon as Fulmer, Dr. William Robertson in Arlington, Texas.

Hughes’ degenerative left knee condition stems from a 2015 meniscus surgery that resulted in the loss of most the cartilagehas bothered him throughout the season. He’s pitched through it the last two years, but the 27-year-old has been on the 15-day IL three times this season because left knee inflammation, most recently starting June 12. Hughes and the Cubs tried various approaches to address the issue, including draining his knee, wearing a bulky brace and trying to adjust his between-outings work.

Ultimately Hughes determined surgery is the best route to address his knee.

“Brandon was a huge part of our bullpen last year, he was excellent,” Hoyer said. “This year has been a little bit of a struggle for him. He’s never really gotten consistently to where he was last year with mechanics because of his knee. He’s fought so hard to get out there. He’s such a competitor, but it finally got to a point where it’s just going to keep being one step forward, one step back over and over.”

Prospect Brennen Davis is also expected to be out roughly six weeks at Triple-A Iowa after core muscle surgery earlier this week.

“The hope is that this explains a little bit of the struggles: that strikeout rate going down, but obviously the ball hasn’t been coming off the bat the way it has in the past,” Hoyer said. “He’s so strong and when he’s been 100%, he’s been really impactful. So the hope is this alleviates whatever’s been bothering him and he comes back and can get back to the athlete that he is.”

Davis, 23, has played only 88 games since the start of the 2022 season because of injuries. Back surgery cost him most of last year, followed by a stress reaction in his back that cut his Arizona Fall League experience short. Then he got off to a slow start this year at Triple-A Iowa. Davis was hitting .198/.316/.299 with only three home runs in 187 plate appearances when he went on the IL earlier this month.

“It’s tough to see him go through this much adversity especially back to back,” vice president of player development Jared Banner said Saturday. “It feels like he hasn’t really had a chance to get in rhythm over a long period of time, but he’s a very resilient guy. So I expect he’ll work really hard to get back and become the best version of himself.”

On a more encouraging development, outfielder Alexander Canario is ahead of schedule with his rehab assignment underway at the Arizona Complex League where he’s played in five games, tallying four extra-base hits. Canario is coming back from two offseason surgeries to repair a broken left ankle and dislocated left shoulder he sustained playing in the Dominican Winter League.

“We’re not going to rush things,” Banner said, “but we’ll let his body and his play dictate how fast we push him forward.”