What was revealed as "likely" Saturday night has now been confirmed by the man himself. Giants closer Brian Wilson told reporters (Andrew Baggerly being one of them) that he's out for the rest of the 2012 season. So expect to hear an "official" announcement about Wilson undergoing Tommy John surgery on his injured elbow sometime soon. Wilson was said to be in "good spirits" and told the reporters the timing is good from the point of view that he believes he'll be ready to return for the start of the 2013 season (Giants Talk). Return from Tommy John surgery was long listed as 12 to 18 months, but recently it's become more like 10-14 months.
Wilson already had Tommy John surgery once, back when he was in college.
Wilson, 30, had an MLB-best 48 saves with a 1.81 ERA in 2010, as the Giants went on to win the World Series. In the process, he and his beard became incredibly famous. Since then, however, he's had a tough time staying healthy and hasn't met his 2010 performance.
The Giants have a strong bullpen, so options like Santiago Casilla, Sergio Romo and Javier Lopez should be considered in-house candidates to take over as closer. It's no secret that Astros closer Brett Myers is being shopped on the trade market, but he doesn't seem like a better option than what the Giants already have.
For more baseball news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnBaseball on Twitter, subscribe to the RSS feed and "like" us on Facebook.
