McGowan to have surgery on shoulder, out for the season

TORONTO - The 2008 season is over for Toronto Blue Jays starter Dustin McGowan, who will undergo surgery Thursday to repair fraying of the labrum in his right shoulder.

During the operation, the tear in his right rotator cuff that forced him to the disabled list July 9 will also be examined to see if a further procedure is necessary to correct that problem.

The hope is that the rotator cuff can be left alone and that McGowan will be ready to go next spring.

"That's the best-case scenario," GM J.P. Ricciardi said in an interview Saturday. "We always prepare for worst-case scenarios, but hopefully we'll get good news."

McGowan, 6-7 with a 4.37 ERA in 19 starts this season, left a July 8 outing versus Baltimore after just 66 pitches and four innings when the pain in his shoulder became too much to bear.

An initial diagnosis found that the tear in his rotator cuff was unchanged from last spring and Thursday's surgery will seek to confirm that.

"He's got fraying of the labrum, so they're going to repair that," said Ricciardi. "When they're in there, they're going to look at the rotator cuff to see if anything else has to be done."

Losing McGowan removes one of the club's key pieces in the rotation both now and down the road. Some see the 26-year-old as Toronto's ace of the future but getting his shoulder healthy becomes the top priority now.

David Purcey, the left-hander chosen 16th overall in 2004, will get an extended audition in McGowan's absence. Purcey was 8-6 with a 2.69 ERA in 19 starts for triple-A Syracuse and made two emergency starts for the Blue Jays earlier this season.

He was called up earlier this week when the struggling Jesse Litsch was optioned down to Syracuse.

"The guy's had a great year in triple-A, he's deserving of being here, deserving of getting some starts," said Ricciardi. "We'll see."

The Blue Jays are hoping Litsch can get himself back on track with a few strong outings in Syracuse, enabling them to call him back up. For now, the team isn't inclined to bring up other top prospects like double-A left-hander Brett Cecil for a look.
bad news for McGowan, likely for the best, time to see what Purcey can do with a string of starts instead of 1 then going back to the minors.