MLB odds: Terrible news for Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays likely will be without one of their best young pitchers for the rest of the season, no matter what they are saying now, as Dustin McGowan has been shown to have the dreaded tear in his rotator cuff.

Now, the Jays are saying only that the club is expecting McGowan to miss “probably longer than four weeks,” but that is being overly optimistic.

"The severity of it we won't really know until (the pain) calms down," GM J.P. Ricciardi said.

McGowan, long considered to have the best pure stuff in the organization, came out of his last start on Tuesday after four innings, complaining of soreness. His velocity was down noticeably.

He will see a specialist, where film of his shoulder will be compared with that of previous years to determine whether the tear in his shoulder has worsened or not. He has had some level of tear in his shoulder for a while, as most pitchers do, but it's not clear how much more damage has been done.

"We're not anticipating anything good or bad at this point," Ricciardi said when asked about the severity of the tear. “The best-case scenario is it calms down and he's able to get throwing again.”

Asked whether surgery was an option, Ricciardi did not rule it out.

"Not today, but obviously anytime you talk about stuff like that it could be," he said.McGowan had a breakout 2007, going 12-10 with a 4.08 ERA and 1.22 WHIP, working a career-high 166 2/3 innings. He took a bit of a step back this year, 6-7 with a 4.37 ERA and 1.37 WHIP, but is considered a big part of Toronto’s future plans.

Reliever Brian Tallet has been promoted from the bullpen and inserted into the rotation to fill in. Tallet is 0-1 with a 2.83 ERA this season with 30 strikeouts in 35 innings. He has six career starts to his credit, and his last one was in 2006. Toronto has been without right-hander Shaun Marcum (right shoulder), since June 19, but he is expected back following the All-Star break.

Expect McGowan’s injury to expedite the Jays’ trying to deal fellow starter A.J. Burnett while he still has value. This season is pretty much a lost one for Toronto, which is last in the AL East.

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