Blue Jays GM Atkins ‘very optimistic’ Ken Giles will pitch again soon

Toronto Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins joins a zoom call to discuss the severity of closer Ken Giles' injury, says after running tests and such, he's "very optimistic" that we'll see him pitch again real soon.

TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays are optimistic that Ken Giles will return to action in the relatively near future after the closer received a Platelet-Rich Plasma injection, Ross Atkins said Friday.

Giles was diagnosed with a "very mild strain" in the flexor muscles of his right forearm, said the GM, which occurred during a difficult outing last Sunday when he couldn’t close out a game at the Tampa Bay Rays.

PRP injections put a concentration of a person’s own platelets into an area that needs healing in an effort to accelerate the process, and Atkins said, "we’re confident that we can get past that within this very short season and we’ll see him again soon."

"Never a good situation when someone’s injured," he added during a Zoom call with reporters, "but of all the scenarios that could have come out of the MRI and his visits with medical professionals and experts, certainly on the better end of the spectrum. Very optimistic that we’ll see him pitching again soon. We’ll have a much better understanding of his timeline in less than two weeks."

Atkins also said during the call that the Blue Jays – who have the weekend off after their series with the Philadelphia Phillies was postponed due to a pair of COVID-19 positives – expect to adjust their rotation coming out of the break for the start a three-game series at Atlanta next Tuesday.

Centre-fielder Randal Grichuck, who missed this week’s four games versus the Nationals with lower-back irritation, would have been ready to play Saturday and should be fine in Atlanta, Atkins added.

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