Toronto Blue Jays: Ken Giles has reached the end of the road

The embattled closer of the Toronto Blue Jays will go under the knife for Tommy John surgery, most likely ending Ken Giles’ time north of the border.

For a guy who punched himself in the face after being removed from a game by his previous employer, verbally berated his own manager, and lost his role as closer with the Houston Astros, the move to the Toronto Blue Jays for Ken Giles had been working out pretty well.

True, he had suffered through a handful of injuries along the way, yet his performance on the field was rarely lacking.

In 2019, his first full season with the Blue Jays, Giles saved 23 games and had a 1.87 earned run average. His 14.1 K/9 was a career high at the time and he was proving to be the reliable closer who had shown flashes of greatness earlier in his career.

His 2020 was marred by injury and Giles was only able to get on the field for four games. Then word dropped.

Tommy John Surgery.

The three words no pitcher ever wants to hear. The timing of this injury could not be worse for the relationship between Giles and the Jays.

Giles, who most likely would have been traded prior to the trade deadline this year had he been healthy, will enter free agency at the end of the year. The arduous rehab Giles will have to go through to get back on the field surely won’t allow him to do so during the 2021 season at all. Giles may have thrown his last pitch for the Blue Jays.

While Anthony Bass and Rafael Dolis have held down the fort as part-time closers, they are not long term answers. The Jays will have to look for a closer on the open market or groom someone within. If they were interested in bringing Giles back, he would have to prove himself before getting the keys to the closer’s car again.

The likely scenario, he latches on with someone else and tries to regain his form as a high leverage option. His days with the Toronto Blue Jays are done.