B.J. Ryan, CL, Toronto Blue Jays

April 18, 2007 @ 16:00:00

By Danny Dabiri
Edited by Ryan Dodson

Toronto Blue Jays closer B.J. Ryan blew his second save of the season Saturday against the Detroit Tigers. To make matters worse, Ryan complained of pain in his left elbow. He is expected to miss four to six weeks with a sprained ligament in his pitching elbow. On Sunday the team placed Ryan on the disabled list. Ryan met with renowned surgeon Dr. James Andrews to determine the extent of his injury, and he confirmed the initial prognosis of a strained ligament. The team said Ryan will be out closer to six weeks than four weeks.

Ryan made his major league debut with the Cincinnati Reds in 1999. His career skyrocketed with the Baltimore Orioles. In 2005, Ryan beat out Jorge Julio and became the Orioles' closer. Ryan immediately took advantage of the opportunity, amassing 36 saves and earning his first All-Star selection. Ryan parlayed his impressive season into a 5-year $47 million contract with the Blue Jays which, at the time, was the largest contract for a reliever in history. In his first season with the Jays, Ryan was impressive, converting a career-high 38 saves, and earning his second consecutive All-Star nod.

In Ryan's absence, the team will turn to setup man Jason Frasor as the primary closer. As a rookie in 2004, Frasor converted 17 saves for the Jays before Ryan's arrival in Toronto. In their first save opportunity since the injury, the Jays turned to Shaun Marcum. He and Victor Zambrano are expected to close out games when Frasor is unavailable. Frasor nailed down his first save chance later in the week. Casey Janssen will replace Frasor as the primary setup man.

Anytime a pitcher suffers an injury to his throwing arm, there is always the possibility that the injury could be season ending or even career threatening. As mentioned before, the Jays believe Ryan will be sidelined four to six weeks. Fantasy owners who have Ryan should keep him on the DL rather than dropping him outright. The most obvious choice to replace him is Frasor if he's available. Frasor is 1-0 with a save, a 1.23 ERA, a 0.68 WHIP and nine strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings. He has the chance to be a good middle-of-the-road closer.

In addition to Frasor, Ryan's fantasy owners should take a look at some other young relievers. Two potential replacements are Milwaukee Brewers reliever Derrick Turnbow and Chicago White Sox reliever David Aardsma. Both have been impressive thus far. Turnbow has compiled 11 strikeouts in six innings of work with an ERA of 0.00. Aardsma has struck out 15 batters in 10 innings and has a 0.90 ERA and a 0.80 WHIP.

As for Ryan, he is certainly one of the premier closers in the game, and his absence will be a major hurdle for the Blue Jays to overcome. Assuming he returns healthy, with no lingering discomfort in his elbow, he should return to dominant form. Blue Jays fans and fantasy owners alike will keep their fingers crossed for a speedy recovery.

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Danny Dabiri
Danny has been with KFFL since 2007.

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