*Photo from TSN*
Remember when Kirby Yates was only supposed to be out for a few weeks? That's not happening anymore. The Toronto Blue Jays announced that Yates underwent Tommy John surgery to repair the UCL in his right arm, and will miss the 2021 season, according to the Blue Jays. Yates was diagnosed with a flexor strain on Monday, and around 24 hours after that, it was announced he would need Tommy John surgery.
This will be the second Tommy John Surgery of Yates' career, the first one coming in 2006. He was initially diagnosed with a flexor strain, and after receiving an MRI and a second opinion, he decided to opt for Tommy John, which was initially recommended. Yates first felt discomfort following an appearance in the Blue Jays spring training game last Saturday.
Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins said of Yates undergoing the surgery that "This is part of it, you know, part of it was someone that was coming off of the procedure and we knew it was very high risk with potential of high reward. We feel very good about Kirby Yates in this environment, and this is just part of it. Part of it didn't work out for the Blue Jays this year."
Yates was limited to 6 games last season with the San Diego Padres due to various arm injuries. Yates signed a one year deal worth $5.5 million with the Blue Jays this offseason, in the hopes he could bounce back to his dynamite season in 2019, where he posted a major league leading 41 saves in 60 appearances, making the all star game.
The favorite to become the closer for the Blue Jays appears to be Rafael Dolis, who stepped in as the Jays closer in 2020 after Ken Giles went down for the season. Jordan Romano will likely become a set up man and relief closer, David Phelps, Tyler Chatwood, and Ryan Borucki will also likely see an increase in high leverage innings with Yates on the shelf.
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