Toronto Blue Jays: Ken Giles injury a poor mismanagement of trade asset
With Ken Giles not making progress with his elbow injury, you have to wonder if the Toronto Blue Jays could have done more to protect an important trade asset.
There are always two sides to every story but for the Toronto Blue Jays, the optics surrounding Ken Giles‘ injury doesn’t look good on the team.
When news got out that the closer was dealing with nerve inflammation because of a massage he got on his right elbow, the team needed to proceed with caution. Giles was arguably the Blue Jays second-best trade asset behind Marcus Stroman and couldn’t afford to torpedo his value.
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Giles would return from the injured list but then he was not made available and with the MLB Trade Deadline approaching, there was fear that this would impact his trade value. Then word got out that the 28-year-old had an MRI, then got a cortisone shot which set off alarm bells.
The good news is that there was no structural damage, the bad news is that Giles won’t pitch ahead of the deadline and the team wasn’t being upfront about his status. Toronto pretty much lost quite a bit of leverage and it will be tough to convince teams to put their faith in Giles.
There might still be teams desperate enough for a reliever to give the Blue Jays something but would it be worth it at this point? This is not a player who is on an expiring deal so you wonder if it is worth holding off until the off-season?
It might make more sense considering teams who don’t want to pay up in free agency will like what Giles has to offer considering he is 15-for-16 in save situations. He is certainly good enough to be a closer on a contending team, the question is whether the Blue Jays can find a way to capitalize on it.
While elbows injuries can be tough to treat, the Blue Jays should have taken the steps to ensure they put Giles in a better position to be on the mound before the trade deadline. Considering the mixed reaction towards the Stroman trade, management cannot swing and miss on this deal.
Next. Atkins and Shapiro era will be defined by Stroman trade. dark
What do you think about Giles situation? Did the Blue Jays screw up by not taking more care with his injury? Let us know in the comments below.