Shushkewich: Veteran Taillon vows to come back from latest elbow injury

Veteran right-hander Jameson Taillon, whose parents are Canadian, has vowed to continue his major league career after his latest elbow injury. Photo: Toronto Blue Jays/Instagram

October 5, 2026

By Tyson Shushkewich

Canadian Baseball Network

For any professional pitcher, words such as inflammation and strain involving the throwing arm can be unsettling.

For Canadian Jameson Taillon, they were all too familiar.

Taillon, a product of Lakeland, Fla., with connections to Canada through his parents, has faced more than his share of adversity throughout his professional career.

In 2014, he underwent Tommy John surgery, keeping him sidelined for the entire season. He then missed the 2015 campaign following hernia surgery.

In 2017, Taillon was diagnosed with testicular cancer. He ultimately returned to the mound and was declared cancer-free in 2019.

Later that same year, he underwent another UCL surgery, causing him to miss all of the shortened 2020 season while he recovered.

Now, at 34 years old and once again facing a significant arm injury, Taillon was staring down the possibility of another procedure on his throwing arm.

His answer made one thing clear: he isn't ready to walk away.

According to Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi, Taillon is scheduled to undergo surgery with Dr. Keith Meister, with the procedure focused on repairing the flexor muscle in his throwing arm. An internal brace of the ligament in his elbow is also a potential option. The recovery could keep Taillon out for a significant portion of the 2027 season.

Under normal circumstances, that would represent another major obstacle for a veteran pitcher trying to secure his next contract, but there is a window of opportunity for Taillon to go through the procedure and potentially not miss any time on the mound.

Major League Baseball's current Collective Bargaining Agreement is set to expire in early December, creating uncertainty around the 2027 season.

The players' union and owners have plenty of issues to negotiate and hammer out, and there is no guarantee that the two sides will reach an agreement without disruption to the start of the next season.

For Taillon, an extended recovery could therefore come at a particularly interesting time.

If games are delayed, his rehabilitation timeline could overlap with a work stoppage rather than costing him additional time on the mound. He would be waiting for a deal to come to fruition while recovering but not losing ground on those who are also in the free agent pool with the negotiations ongoing.

Regardless, Taillon is attempting to buck a trend that has seen MLB increasingly turn toward younger players.

According to Baseball-Reference, the average age of a starting pitcher in 2026 was 29.1 years old. This is a mark that has trended around the 28-30 year mark for years.

At 34, with multiple significant surgeries already behind him and another looming, Taillon could easily choose a different path. Instead, he's choosing to bet on himself.

There is no guarantee of what his next contract will look like. It will almost certainly be different from the four-year, $68 million deal he signed with Chicago.

While also staring down the barrel of a medical procedure, Taillon is coming off one of the toughest seasons of his pro career from a statistical standpoint.

Through 76 innings with the Cubs, Taillon posted a 5.92 ERA and a 6.73 FIP, allowing 50 earned runs while carrying a 1.355 WHIP. He then finished the year in Toronto after being designated for assignment for the first time in his career, making three starts for the Jays while allowing just four earned runs through 10 innings before the elbow ailment finished his season early.

But Taillon still believes there is something left in the tank. The right-hander knows the road back will not be easy. He also knows it is a road he has travelled before.

For Taillon, the next chapter will begin in a familiar place: the operating room. What comes after that remains to be seen.

But one thing appears certain — Jameson Taillon isn't ready to put an end to his baseball career just yet.