Blue Jays lose another pitcher for the remainder of the season

Ben Nicholson-Smith reported Tuesday afternoon that Blue Jays reliever David Phelps would miss the remainder of the 2021 season after undergoing surgery on his right lat yesterday.

Phelps was last seen on May 5 when he came out to pitch in the eighth inning of a game in Oakland, however, after taking some warm-up throws he had to leave without actually facing a batter.  Phelps was originally placed on the 10-day injured list, but rest and time away did not help, which led to the surgery.

Losing Phelps from the bullpen is a punch to the gut as the club has struggled drastically through May in respect to relief pitching and Phelps was one of only a few pitchers that had much of any relevant experience.  To start the season, which was his ninth in the Major Leagues, Phelps had pitched in 11 games, tossing 10.1 innings and allowed just one earned run, while striking out 15.

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Phelps joins Kirby Yates to have season-ending surgery, while the club is still missing Julian Merryweather, Ryan Borucki, and Tommy Milone on the 10-day injured list and have no time tables for their returns.

Phelps had signed back with the Blue Jays on a one-year deal at $1.75 Million for the 2021 season after having stops in Chicago, Milwaukee and Philadelphia since he was traded away from Toronto at the trade deadline in 2019.

This season has continually seen pitchers headed to the injured list, but the club may have some good news moving forward.  Thomas Hatch, who the Blue Jays had hoped would be an impact pitcher on the big league roster this year is battling back from his placement on the 60-day injured list, as he made his first appearance in Triple-A this past week with the Buffalo Bisons.  Hatch started this past Friday and tossed three innings, allowing one earned run on three hits while striking out four.

Ironically, it was Hatch that the team got back in return when they traded Phelps in 2019.