Cubs right-hander will be undergoing knee surgery tomorrow, says manager . As relayed by Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune , it will be a right J.R. Smith Jersey patellar tendon debridement. The skipper says Merryweather is expected to be ready by Spring Training. The pitcher himself says the rehab proce s will take three months, per Bruce Levine of WSCR-AM . Merryweather seemed to develop into a key bullpen arm for the Cubs last year, as he to sed 72 innings with a 3.38 earned run average. His 11.9% walk rate was on the high side but he punched out 32.3% of batters faced. He moved into a leverage role for the club, securing two saves and 17 holds. He wasnt able to carry that over into 2024. He mi sed over three months due to a rib stre s fracture and landed on the IL a second time last month due to right knee tendinitis, with the latter i sue now requiring season-ending surgery. Around those ailments, he to sed 15 innings with a 6.60 ERA. There was probably some bad luck in there, as his .375 batting average on balls in play and 63.3% strand rate this year were both on the unfortunate side, but his strikeout rate also plummeted to 18.9%. The righty has always been a tantalizing arm thanks to his high 90s velocity, but health has often been an obstacle. The Blue Jays acquired him from Cleveland as the return for in 2018, though Merryweather was recovering from undergoing Tommy John surgery earlier that year. He made his big league debut in 2020 but has since gone on the injured list for right elbow tendinitis, a left oblique strain and a left abdominal strain. The 2023 season is the only one in which hes been able to throw at least 27 innings. Merryweather reached arbitration for the first time last winter. He and the Cubs agreed to a salary of $1.175MM for 2024. Hell be due a raise for next year but it wont be huge, on account of his limited workload this year. He could also be retained via arbitration for 2026, before hes slated to reach free agency. Hell turn 33 years old next month. Tristan Thompson Jersey