Blue Jays’ Manoah set to undergo season-ending surgery on elbow injury

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah is set to undergo reconstructive surgery on his right elbow, ruling him out for the remainder of the season.

The decision came following an examination from Dr. Keith Meister, who offered a second opinion and will perform the operation on June 17.

Manoah made his season debut for the Blue Jays on May 6 but he has been out of action ever since right elbow discomfort saw him leave his start on May 29 against the Chicago White Sox in the second inning. Prior to that he went 1-2 with a 3.70 ERA over five starts spanning 24 1/3 innings.

Blue Jays ‘preparing for the worst and hoping for the best’

Manager John Schneider commented following the news being released that it still remains uncertain whether Manoah will have to undergo a full Tommy John liGament replacement, as a procedure to insert an internal brace into the elbow joint has also been suggested as a potential solution.

The exact course of action will depend on the condition of Manoah’s ulnar collateral liGament, which will be assessed during the operation.

“In that situation you’re kind of preparing for the worst and hoping for the best,” Schneider said. “It was conversations that he had with us and the training staff, we knew it was a possibility.”

As for his replacement, Schneider said that “we’ll see how we land after that. Ideally you’d like something to be pretty steady and kind of keep everyone in working order in the bullpen. ... How it unfolds here and again trying to think of what’s right for all the guys that are in the bullpen, Bowden (Francis) included, and how you can use him most effectively as well. So we’ll see after Tuesday and hopefully it goes well.”

As well as the news of the injury, the Blue Jays also announced they were bringing in infielder Spencer Horwitz and designating infielder Cavan Biggio for assignment. Biggio was batting .200/.323/.291 for the Blue Jays in 44 games while Horwitz had a .456 OBP and a .970 OPS in 57 games for Triple-A Buffalo.