Blue Jays: Mark Leiter Jr. undergoes Tommy John surgery

Mark Leiter Jr., 27, was claimed off waivers by the Blue Jays from the Philadelphia Phillies in early September.

Right-handed pitcher Mark Leiter Jr. has undergone Tommy John surgery and will miss the entirety of the 2019 season, the Blue Jays announced Sunday morning.

Leiter Jr., 27, underwent the procedure on March 12, per Baseball Toronto’s Keegan Matheson.

Laura Armstrong of The Toronto Star adds that this is the first time that many around the team have heard about the injury; Leiter Jr. pitched three innings earlier this spring.

The native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida was drafted by the Phillies in the 22nd round of the 2013 draft and spent the next five seasons in their organization before being claimed off waivers by the Blue Jays in September.

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In parts of six seasons in the Phillies minor league system, he pitched to an ERA of 3.43 in 503.2 innings, striking out 483 and walking 134.

He made his major league debut in 2017 and has appeared in 47 MLB games for his career, eight of them with the Blue Jays. In 114.0 big league frames, he boasts an ERA of 5.53 and has three wins and seven losses in parts of two seasons. For his career, he has been worth a cumulative -1.2 WAR, per Baseball Reference.

For Leiter (nephew of former Blue Jay Al Leiter), this represents a massive roadblock in what was already a difficult road ahead. Seeing as he was barely able to stay on the 40-man roster near the end of the 2018 season, it doesn’t look good for him going forward.

Now, he’ll begin a long road to recovery, as Tommy John surgery is one of baseball’s most devastating and grueling injuries to recover from. At this point, there has been no word on whether or not there will be any corresponding roster moves to compensate for his transfer to the 60-day injured list. More to come.