Toronto Blue Jays closer Ken Giles will have Tommy John surgery, ending his 2020 season and likely costing him the entire 2021 campaign.
“After collecting all the opinions from everybody for his elbow, he decided that the best path forward is Tommy John surgery,” manager Charlie Montoyo said. “The decision was made today so he’ll be leaving us tomorrow.”
Giles, who turned 30 on Sunday, has been limited to only four games this season due to elbow issues. After initially suffering an injury to his elbow in the season-opening series against the Tampa Bay Rays, Giles returned to the mound for two appearances in September before going back on the injured list.
Giles will become a free agent after this season. In two-and-a-half seasons as Toronto’s primary closer, he has 38 saves in 78 games with a 2.86 ERA and 111 strikeouts.
“He was a great clubhouse leader. He was awesome, I loved the guy,” Montoyo said. “When he was on the mound, when he was healthy he was one of the best relievers in baseball.”
In other Blue Jays injury news, pitchers Nate Pearson and Anthony Kay both threw live batting practice sessions on Monday and reliever Jordan Romano is scheduled to throw one on Tuesday.
Pearson, who has been out since Aug. 19 with an elbow injury, threw aproximently 25 pitches over two innings Monday and the team will reevaluate his progress Tuesday.
“He looked good today,” Montoyo said.
The manager added that first baseman Rowdy Tellez hit in the cage Monday and has been jogging “slowly” while he recovers from a knee injury.
