Toronto Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano underwent arthroscopic surgery on Wednesday to repair an impingement in his right elbow, manager John Schneider told reporters (including MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson). Romano will be shut down for at least six weeks, and it’s unclear at present if he’ll be able to make his return to the mound before the season ends — mind you, six weeks from now would put him on the rehab road in mid-August, giving him just over a month before the season ends.
Romano, 31, has not pitched since late May. When he was available earlier this season, he didn’t perform particularly well. In 15 appearances, he amassed a 6.59 ERA (62 ERA+) and a 3.25 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Romano’s contributions were deemed to be below the replacement-level threshold, per the estimates housed at Baseball Reference.
It’s perhaps worth noting that Romano’s fastball was completely ineffective. Whereas he generated a 32.3% whiff rate on the offering last season, that percentage dropped to 6.5% this season. How much of that decline can be credited to the injury and how much to fluctuation within a smaller sample is anyone’s guess.
The Blue Jays have had four pitchers other than Romano record saves this season: Yimi García (also injured), Chad Green, Nate Pearson, and Génesis Cabrera. It seems fair to expect Green to continue getting most of the opportunities between now and when/if he’s traded. (He’s under contract for another season, suggesting Toronto could well keep him.)
The Blue Jays enter Wednesday with a 39-46 record on the season, putting them 15 games back in the American League East and seven behind in the wild-card race. Toronto had already received some bad injury news on Tuesday, with infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa — the club’s most productive player this year — hitting the shelf because of a strained knee.
