Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said Sunday that Stephen (elbow) will undergo UCL surgery during the upcoming week, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.
Antonetti noted that a decision on whether Stephen requires a UCL repair or reconstruction will be determined once Dr. Keith Meister gets a chance to get a closer look at the right-hander's elbow before surgery is performed. Stephen will miss the rest of the season regardless of the specificity of his procedure, though a repair could shave a few months off his recovery timeline and give him a chance at returning to action early in the 2027 campaign. The 23-year-old submitted a 3.27 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 49:23 K:BB in 55 innings over 12 starts for Double-A Akron before landing on the injured list June 10.