Happy Birthday Ken Giles

Ken Giles turns 30 today.

When the Blue Jays picked up Giles in the Roberto Osuna trade, he came with his own baggage. We all saw the video of him hitting himself. And the Astros had sent him to the minors when he had a poor start to the 2018 season.

Of course, Osuna had his own issues that forced the Jays into making the trade, so we kind of expected getting a discounted return. Along with Giles, the Astros sent David Paulino (who was released after 7 starts and a 3.45 ERA in Buffalo this year, as far as I can tell no team has picked him up) and Hector Perez (who got into his first MLB game last week).

Since the trade Giles has a 2.83 ERA with 38 saves (with just 1 blown save). His 38 saves puts him 9th in Blue Jays history. He would need 15 more to move to 8th, but that seems very unlikely at the moment.

Last year he was injured at the deadline or he would likely have been traded. And, of course, he was injured at the deadline this year too. And now he’s out for the season.

Ken is a free agent after the season. This isn’t the way he would have liked to enter free agency. I’d imagine he’ll look to sign a 1-year deal to build up some value.

Happy Birthday Ken. I hope you get a save for your birthday.