Blue Jays outfielder Fred Lewis will miss the final 10 games of the season so he can undergo surgery to remove a bunion on his left foot.
Lewis officially left the team prior to its 1-0 victory over Seattle on Thursday. No date for his surgery has been announced, but the team decided to shut down the 30-year-old for precautionary reasons.
The bunion (a swelling of bone and tissue around the joint at the base of the big toe) has bothered Lewis off-and-on all season, causing him to miss several games in May.
It’s not the first time Lewis has suffered through this problem.
He actually endured from the same issue on his right foot in 2008 while a member of the San Francisco Giants. It took surgery to cure the ailment and he missed the remaining 29 games of the season.
“It’s been very painful,” Lewis said to the San Francisco Chronicle at the time. “The things I go through every day just to get ready to play, it’s just ridiculous. I don’t want to go through that any more.”
Lewis will travel to Birmingham, Ala., for his current surgery, where he will be operated on by Dr. Angus McBryde.
Although Lewis has been on the bench in recent games in favour of Travis Snider, he has had a decent year since being acquired from the Giants in April for only $75, 000 US.
In 110 games with the Blue Jays this season, Lewis has batted .261 with 31 doubles, eight homers, five triples, 70 runs scored, and 17 stolen bases.
Other notable major leaguers to suffer a similar fate include Atlanta’s Chipper Jones, Jim Edmonds (retired), and Christian Guzman of the Texas Rangers.