Jeff Passan has a knack for breaking things.
He has become the go-to reporter for breaking baseball news, often breaking the hearts of fans with news of big trades and signings. He also breaks news on broken bones (and other injuries).
And now he’s breaking backs — his own.
ESPN’s top MLB reporter has been relatively quiet on social media during the sport’s busy season, especially as the trade deadline approaches. On Monday, he revealed the reason why: He broke his back after a tree limb fell on him in the aftermath of a storm in Kansas City, Mo.
MORE: When is the MLB trade deadline in 2023?
Here are the latest updates on the status of one of baseball’s most notable reporters:
Jeff Passan injury update
The MLB trade deadline is Aug. 1 and with just over two weeks to go, Passan took to Twitter to address his curious absence from the internet.
BREAKING: My back. pic.twitter.com/rC6UNoiwrq
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 17, 2023
“Sorry I haven’t been posting lately,” he tweeted. “During cleanup after a big storm in KC, a large tree limb decided to fall and crush me. The good news: I still have use of my arms, legs and Twitter fingers. The bad news: I have a broken back.
“The vertebra fracture will heal. I will be better. I’m hoping the pain subsides between now and the trade deadline, though painkiller-fueled tweets could be a fun time.”
Prior to the update, Passan hadn’t tweeted since July 13, and that about a segment from the ESPYS the night before. He did retweet an ESPN article previewing the second half of the MLB season, however.
Not long after he shared the news of his injury, Passan then revealed the tree that caused the back injury.
This is the culprit.
You can be damn sure I will be making a bat out of it. pic.twitter.com/WkR4XkGBIH
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 17, 2023
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Passan’s light-hearted tweets play down the severity of the incident. The sheer size of the branch illustrates how much worse the result could’ve been. Regardless, it’s good to see he’s in good spirits and will still send MLB fans into a frenzy when big news breaks.
Hopefully for those who have Passan’s Twitter notifications turned on, his next “breaking” tweet will be a little less serious.