Batter's Box Interactive Magazine Batter's Box Interactive Magazine Batter's Box Interactive Magazine
The Blue Jays original closer heading into the season is now done for the season.  The National Post reports Sergio Santos is set to have his right shoulder operated on by Dr. Lewis Yocum in Los Angeles.



Sergio Santos, pitching April 11 at the Dome and earning his first save against the Red Sox, made just six trips to the mound for Toronto in 2012.




It is ironic that news of Santos' demise comes as the Jays wrap up their season series against Cleveland.  It was against the Indians that Santos made his Jays debut in the season opener April 5.  He was in line for the save opportunity in the 16-inning marathon but lefty Luis Perez decided to return to the mound to start the frame and got the first out before finally getting the hook from manager John Farrell.  Santos walked a man but did get the final two outs to preserve the victory.  His next outing on April 7 resulted in a blown save when he surrendered a game-tying home run to Asdrubal Cabrera but the Jays would prevail with a 7-4 victory over the Tribe.  His lowest moment came in the April 9 home opener when he yielded three runs in two-thirds of an inning as Boston pulled out a 4-2 victory.

Santos redeemed himself in the series finale two days later when he bailed out lefty Ricky Romero and picked up his first save in a Toronto uniform April 11.  He stranded runners at second and third by retiring the only two hitters he faced, striking out Kevin Youkilis and getting David Ortiz to ground out to end the game.  Santos worked a scoreless frame against Tampa Bay April 17 to finish up a 7-3 win over the Rays at the Dome.  His 2012 finale was in Kansas City April 20 as he gave up a run but collected the save in a 4-3 win.



Santos pitched just five innings with the Jays and posted an earned run average of 9.00 with a K/BB ratio of 4-4.   As Bauxite 85bluejay pointed out in the previous thread, has Chicago GM Kenny Williams pulled another fast one on the Jays?  You may recall the infamous Mike Sirotka-David Wells deal in which Sirotka never pitched again after the lefty's shoulder turned out to be toast.  Wells did not exactly enjoy a stellar 2001 season with the Pale Hose as he went 5-7 with a 4.47 ERA.  Heck, he even lost to Joey Hamilton during his lone appearance against the Jays that season.  Meantime, righty Nestor Molina, who went the other way to Chicago in the Santos deal, has been struggling in the minors with a 4-8 record and a 5.01 ERA this season.  The majority of those stats were compiled at Double-A Birmingham.  He had one start at Triple-A Charlotte, where he was torched for six runs over four innings. 

Hopefully, Santos will be ready for 2013 and recapture the form of 2011 when he racked up 30 saves for the White Sox.
Santos Is Toast For 2012 | 16 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
Mike Green - Sunday, July 15 2012 @ 02:44 PM EDT (#260388) #
It is unfortunate, and a bit puzzling, that it took so long to determine that shoulder surgery was required.  A return to form in 2013, with spring training only 8 months away, seems awfully optimistic to me.
Dave Till - Sunday, July 15 2012 @ 02:55 PM EDT (#260389) #
That brings the number of pitchers acquired from the White Sox with shoulder problems to 2. If Chicago offers the Jays another pitcher, it might be best to send him to Dr. Lewis Yocum first, just to save a trip. (Does Dr. Yocum do shoulders while Dr. James Andrews, of Birmingham, Ala., does elbows? What's the deal here?)

Fortunately, Nadier Molina has a 4.61 ERA in double-A ball, and his strikeouts are way down. So this isn't likely to become "Wells for Sirotka II - The Revenge Of".

Dave Till - Sunday, July 15 2012 @ 02:57 PM EDT (#260390) #
...and I just noticed that most of my post was covered in the original article I replied to. So feel free to carry on with what you were doing. (Look! A shiny object!)
hypobole - Sunday, July 15 2012 @ 03:07 PM EDT (#260392) #
"Does Dr. Yocum do shoulders while Dr. James Andrews, of Birmingham, Ala., does elbows? What's the deal here?"

I believe the medical term is specialists. :)
scottt - Sunday, July 15 2012 @ 03:16 PM EDT (#260393) #
The rotator cuff is fine and everything looks good on the MRIs.

Sounds like the surgery will be investigative and focused on the labrum.

MatO - Sunday, July 15 2012 @ 03:20 PM EDT (#260394) #

I think Santos is from California so maybe that has something to do with choosing Yocum.  Easier for check-ups etc.

Didn't Kenny Williams also send a minor league pitcher to the Jays in the same deal who was injured.  In that case I think he took the pitcher back and sent someone else.

 

Mike Green - Sunday, July 15 2012 @ 03:57 PM EDT (#260395) #
Bravo to Farrell for bringing on Janssen yesterday in the eighth, and having Oliver go 2 innings today for the save with a 3 run lead.  Much, much better.
dan gordon - Sunday, July 15 2012 @ 04:03 PM EDT (#260396) #
The recovery time for shoulder labrum surgery depends on the extent of the damage and what has to be done during the operation.  Casey Janssen had surgery to repair a torn labrum in March of 2008.  He missed the entire 2008 season, came back during the 2009 season and wasn't very good.  He was better in 2010, but wasn't back to pre-surgery form until the 2011 season.  Hopefully the damage to Santos shoulder isn't as bad as Janssen's.  Santos could be back next year, or we might be looking at 2 or 3 years before he's back to 2011 form.  Some pitchers never recover from labrum surgery.  It doesn't sound like they think there is major damage to the labrum, so hopefully he'll have a reasonably quick recovery.  They should give some kind of an update after the operation.
Richard S.S. - Sunday, July 15 2012 @ 04:32 PM EDT (#260397) #

Two points come to mind:

Going to the http://sports.nationalpost.com/2012/07/15/blue-jays-sergio-santos-to-undergo-shoulder-surgery/ we find this http://sports.nationalpost.com/2012/07/12/blue-jays-could-benefit-from-moving-triple-a-team-to-buffalo/ interesting item. 

We will find out what happens if A.A. is on the ball.   I wonder what it would cost to buy the Buffalo facility and use it as Toronto's AAA Team site, or is it against MLB rules.   Otherwise, if they get stuck in Las Vegas - maybe if ever the new Stadium (below ground) gets built.  

Plus, Twins scouts are checking out Lansing Lugnuts games according to a tweet from Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports. 

Besides acquiring two or more Starters, a Reliever or two might also be on A.A.'s list.   For all their best wishes, Santos may miss all of 2013 as well, and only having Janssen to pitch the 9th may not be a good decision.   This will be a difficult decision for A.A.

bpoz - Sunday, July 15 2012 @ 06:13 PM EDT (#260399) #
I thought CWS was in rebuild mode & the Tigers were going to run away with the AL Central. I was wrong on both counts.

Original Ryan - Sunday, July 15 2012 @ 06:27 PM EDT (#260401) #
Buying the ballpark in Buffalo wouldn't change anything for the Blue Jays. The team is what they'd need to buy, not the ballpark. Right now there's no indication that the current owner of the Bisons is interested in selling, so buying the team probably isn't a realistic option. The Bisons or the Rochester RedWings becoming fed up with their current affiliations and seeking to sign a PDC with Toronto is likely the only way the Blue Jays will be able to get a AAA team near the big club.

A new ballpark isn't going to be built in Las Vegas any time soon.
92-93 - Monday, July 16 2012 @ 03:53 PM EDT (#260426) #
I must have missed this last week from Shi Davidi:

"The Blue Jays were interested, they never made an offer," Beltran said during Monday's all-star media day. "They were interested for me to go there but we didn't talk about term or years or money, or anything like that.

I'd love to hear China Fan spin this one in light of the conversation we had around the State of the Franchise this winter.
Mike Green - Monday, July 16 2012 @ 04:06 PM EDT (#260428) #
One of the nice things about watching minor league baseball is that you don't have to worry too much about what was said and not.  One of Green's 11 rules for long living is:

"Don't worry about what he said and she did not say.  Your liver will thank you for it."

scottt - Monday, July 16 2012 @ 04:12 PM EDT (#260431) #
"They were interested for me to go there but we didn't talk about term or years or money, or anything like that.

Fine, but did they talk the turf?
John Northey - Monday, July 16 2012 @ 04:20 PM EDT (#260432) #
I suspect they talked about DH and turf and where the Jays were in the division and that was the end of that.
85bluejay - Monday, July 16 2012 @ 04:26 PM EDT (#260434) #
My reading of what Beltran said was that a number of american league teams were interested in him but most wanted him to spend a significant amount of time as a dh, something he wasn't excited about - he wants to play defensively everday
Santos Is Toast For 2012 | 16 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.