In a move geared more toward the 2022 season, the Seattle Mariners have agreed to a two-year deal with free agent right-hander Ken Giles, according to multiple reports Thursday.
Giles is expected to miss most, if not all, of the 2021 season while rehabbing after Tommy John surgery on his pitching elbow in October to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament. Normal recovery time is approximately one year at a minimum.
Giles, 30, became a free agent following the 2020 season after pitching for the Toronto Blue Jays since being traded from the Houston Astros in 2018. He was a standout in 2019 when he went 2-3 with a 1.87 ERA and 23 saves in 53 appearances, which included a career-high ratio of 14.7 strikeouts per nine innings. He had 83 strikeouts in 53 innings.
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But his elbow was giving him trouble and he went on the injured list last June. The issue returned again once the shortened 2020 season began as he pitched twice in late July before going on the disabled list. Giles returned to pitch one inning each in two blowout losses — Sept. 11 and 15 — but the pain returned and his velocity was down.
The Blue Jays placed him back on the injured list on Sept. 16 with a forearm strain before more tests revealed he needed major elbow surgery.
Giles had 38 saves and a 2.83 ERA in 78 appearances with the Blue Jays since being acquired from Houston during the 2018 season as part of the package in which the Astros acquired closer Roberto Osuna.
Overall, Giles is 14-18 with a 2.74 ERA and 115 saves in 357 career relief appearances with the Philadelphia Phillies (2014-15), Astros (2016-18) and Blue Jays. Giles has 478 strikeouts in 351 innings and has recorded 10 or more saves five times, including a career-best 34 in 2017 with the World Series champion Astros.
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–Field Level Media