Jays closer Casey Janssen recovering from shoulder surgery

The current and former closer of the Toronto Blue Jays will be coming off shoulder surgery when they report to spring training in late February.

Casey Janssen, who converted 22 of 25 save chances in his first full season in the role, had surgery on his right (throwing) shoulder on Nov. 16 to repair lingering soreness in his acromio-clavicular (AC) joint.

The 31-year-old is expected to be ready for spring training in late February.

In the spring of 2008, Janssen was diagnosed with a torn labrum in his shoulder and underwent surgery, missing that season. Janssen started five games and appeared in 21 contests overall before pitching in 56 games in 2010.

He took over the closer’s role in 2012 after Sergio Santos had shoulder surgery last July after making six appearances for the Blue Jays and saving two games. Janssen sported a 1.95 earned-run average with 67 strikeouts and just 11 walks over 63 2/3 innings.

A shortstop in the Toronto organization from 2006 to 2008, Santos was re-acquired from the Chicago White Sox on Dec. 6, 2011 for pitching prospect Nestor Molina.

Santos, who saved 30 games for Chicago in 2011 and posted a spectacular 13.1 strikeouts per nine innings pitched, could rejoin the Jays at the start of spring training.

During Janssen’s procedure, a small portion of the end of his clavicle was shaved down to relieve discomfort.