TORONTO – Sergio Santos’s shoulder surgery revealed no significant damage to his labrum and the Toronto Blue Jays say the “cleanout” of fraying around the joint puts the closer on track for the start of next spring training.
Manager John Farrell described Tuesday’s procedure by specialist Dr. Lewis Yocum as “probably the best-case scenario” for the 29-year-old, who made multiple attempts to rehab his shoulder but was unable to pitch after going on the disabled list April 21.
“When it shows wear and tear that means there’s some fraying,” Farrell explained Wednesday. “So they’ve got to clean up the joint overall, which means there’s some fraying of the labrum, but there wasn’t any specific SLAP tear that might require anchors to suture back down.
“There wasn’t a major repair, so to speak, just a cleanout.”
The surgery brings to a close a bizarre first season with the Blue Jays for Santos, who spent a couple of weeks away from the team during spring training to work on his changeup, according to the club, and was erratic in six games before the shoulder pain became too much to bear after closing a 4-3 win at Kansas City on April 20.
The worst case scenario for Santos would have been that a SLAP (Superior Labrum from Anterior to Posterior) tear would have been discovered during the exploratory surgery. Such an injury happens where the tendon from the biceps connects to the labrum and typically involves a trickier recovery.
“You’re always waiting with anticipation to find out truly what’s going on there and you don’t know until they go in there with a scope,” said Farrell. “I think in this case, Sergio got the best news that he could have under the circumstances.”
Santos can begin a rehabilitation program for his shoulder in 10 days and should be able to start the team’s off-season throwing program in mid-December like everyone else.
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OLIVER’S OPTION: Darren Oliver wasn’t 100 per cent certain he wanted to return this season before signing with the Blue Jays during the winter, and the left-hander says he hasn’t yet considered whether or not he wants to pitch again in 2013.
The Jays hold a US$3 million option on him for next year, a bargain if he can perform similarly to the way he has this year. Coming into Wednesday’s action he was 2-2 with a 1.23 ERA in 40 games as one of manager John Farrell’s most reliable options in the bullpen.
“I really haven’t put too much thought into it, to tell you the truth,” he said in an interview. “I try to not to think about that kind of stuff until the season is over.”
A veteran of 19 big-league seasons, Oliver turns 42 on Oct. 6 but hasn’t been feeling his age.
He’s been careful not to overdo things on the Rogers Centre turf – “that definitely would have broken me down, I’m definitely smart about that,” he explains – and feels strong as a result.
“I am happy with where my body is, I surprise myself every day because I’ll be 42 pretty soon, but I’m day-to-day,” he said. “You don’t know how the body is going to respond, so we’ll see how it goes from there.”
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PITCHERS ON MEND: Brandon Morrow is scheduled to pitch in a rehab game Sunday with single-A Dunedin after emerging strong from a 30-pitch batting practice session Wednesday.
The right-hander, working his way back from an oblique injury, threw two simulated innings of 15 pitches “and now it’s just a matter of taking the next progressive step,” said Farrell.
“In just talking with him this afternoon, he’s going to need repetition to get his command back and his release point re-established,” he added. “Physically, a good day for him.”
Drew Hutchison (elbow), meanwhile, will start playing catch Friday, six weeks after walking off the mound with a ligament sprain. There is no timeline for his return.
