Tagged: Jose Reyes
Lawrie getting into rehab games
It appears as if Brett Lawrie is making progress. The Blue Jays’ 3B finally got into some rehab play earlier this week at the single-A level. Lawrie has been out since May 27 with a sprained ankle.
The Jays figure Lawrie will need two weeks of minor league action before rejoining the big club. He’ll likely play a couple games in single-A and then transition to triple-A much like Jose Reyes did during his rehab.
Lawrie got off to a dreadful start after being rushed through a previous rehab assignment to start his season. He hit only .209 in 37 games. The Jays do, however, miss Lawrie’s glove at 3B. And with no Melky Cabrera in the line up (put on DL last Thursday), I’m sure the Jays will welcome the 23-year-old’s bat.
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Reyes status – who goes down?
The Blue Jays are having Jose Reyes play at least one more game in triple-A. Whether the team doesn’t want to do anything to break up the superstitions surrounding its franchise-record-tying winning streak or Reyes just needs a few more at bats is a question.
Reyes went 2-5 with 2 singles yesterday for Buffalo. In six games between triple-A and single-A, he is 8-22 (.364). Reyes also stole another base yesterday, and he also scored from second on a hit up the middle. He seems to be running and rounding the bases on the previously sprained ankle just fine.
Alex Anthopoulos has not given an exact date when Reyes will be back with the big club, but hinted that his return might not come until the team travels to Boston on Thursday for a 4-game series. Anthopoulos said that Reyes is being evaluated day by day and could return at anytime. But he also mentioned that he might play today in Buffalo and then a couple games in New Hampshire, the Jays double-A team, which is logistically on the route to Boston.
The bigger question than “when will Reyes be back?” is “who leaves the team when Reyes inevitably comes back?”.
While nobody knows for sure, I have a feeling I know what move the Jays are leaning towards. I also have my own view (big surprise, eh?).
Jays take
Nobody wants to mess with the clubhouse chemistry right now and it appears Munenori Kawasaki is a big part of that. The Jays are carrying 8 men in the bullpen while the norm is 7. Kawasaki’s recent heroics and fan chants buy him a few more weeks with the club and the Jays make a move by trying to sneak left-handed Juan Perez through waivers and do not succeed. Perez and his affordable $380K contract are claimed by a team looking for lefty help in its bullpen. Kawasaki gets extremely limited playing time with the return of Reyes, plus the crowded infield of Maicer Izturis, Emilio Bonifacio, and Mark DeRosa and is sent to triple-A when Brett Lawrie returns shortly after the allstar break. Kawasaki gets an honourable call up when the roster expands in September, barring any unforeseen injuries to middle infielders that would bring him up sooner.
My take
Even though Kawasaki is a fan favourite and has shown heroics in his brief stint with the club, there just isn’t enough room on the roster for another middle infielder. Especially one that has minor league options and can be sent to triple-A with zero risk of being lost on a waiver claim. Kawasaki was signed as a minor league free agent to provide major league depth should a middle infielder go down with an injury. He has done this and done it well. However, he will receive nearly no playing time once Reyes returns and the Jays are committed to Izturis (due to his contract) and to Bonifacio (due to his superior natural skill set) and unfortunately, Kawasaki is the odd man out. Thoughts of sending a reliever down right before 4 games vs. the Red Sox might not be a great idea. It would be better to get through that series and the next 4 vs. the Tigers before taking the luxury of the additional arm off the roster. The rotation has been amazing but it won’t last forever. With the potent offences of the Red Sox and Tigers coming up, keeping the 8-man bullpen doesn’t seem like a bad idea. Especially when keeping Kawasaki really only buys the Jays time until Lawrie is back. Send Kawasaki down when Reyes returns and cut the bullpen to the traditional 7 when Lawrie is healthy. Who should go from the bullpen? Dustin McGowan, that’s who. He is owed $1.5 million this year and another $1.5 million next year. Then they Jays either pick up a $4 million club option for 2015 or buy him out for $500K. If you didn’t know McGowan and have an emotional attachment to his never-give-up attitude, you would be happy for the Jays to risk putting the hard-throwing righty through waivers – a pitcher who has had 3, count them, 3 shoulder surgeries. A guy who nobody expects to get anything out of for the rest of his career. Anything he does is considered a bonus. He is the least at risk to get picked up off waivers and should be the guy to go. He would undoubtably accept a minor league assignment since the Jays organization has been so good to him over the years. With hard-throwing Neil Wagner essentially doing what the Jays might get from McGowan, but only better, there really isn’t a need for his arm in the ‘pen right now. The relievers with minor league options aren’t going anywhere. Wagner and Aaron Loup are too valuable. If it’s between McGowan and Perez, McGowan has to go. This isn’t personal. It’s about putting the best team on the field and trying to win every game.
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Lawrie starts rehab process
Blue Jays 3B, Brett Lawrie, has not played since May 27th due to a sprained ankle suffered on a stolen base attempt. Lawrie is out of the walking boot he was wearing and resumed baseball activities earlier this week. While there is still no timetable for his return, Lawrie was able to take some groundballs, batting practice, and do a bit of light running.
Lawrie also spent time on the DL to start the season after straining his oblique during the World Baseball Classic. In 37 games, he hit .209 with 5 homers and 14 RBI. The Jays admitted his slow start was because they rushed him back before he established his timing at the plate during his minor league rehab assignment when he was recovering from the oblique strain. But at the time, they desperately wanted his glove at 3B.
It will be interesting to see both Jose Reyes, who is also on the mend, and Lawrie playing the left side of the infield together and should definitely be an instant upgrade from whatever pairing the Jays throw out there right now. Even though the Jays have played 71 games (or 44% of their season), Lawrie and Reyes have not played together yet this season.
As much as Lawrie is a hot-head and needs to relax and let his skills take over – he’s vastly talented but his head gets in the way – it will be nice to have his bat and glove in the line up when he’s 100% healthy.
@IHRTBJs
What a difference a week makes
The Blue Jays were 9 games under .500 when they embarked on the most recent road trip. They have since won 5 straight and now sit only 5.5 games out of the second wildcard spot. What a difference a week makes.
Anchored by solid starting pitching and an offence that continues to hit homers, the Jays finally look like the team everybody thought they would be after all the offseason moves. Now home vs. the Rockies, where I suspect the Jays should take 2 of 3. Then the real test: 3 vs. the Orioles, 3 vs. the Rays, and 4 vs. the Red Sox. A disappointing couple weeks could put an end to any playoff hopes. A successful couple weeks would mean the Jays are back in the thick of a postseason race prior to the allstar game.
With Jose Reyes scheduled to come back later this month (he went 2-2 with a single, triple, 2 walks and 2 stolen bases in his rehab debut this weekend), the offence should only get better. Also, Brandon Morrow should be back by the end of June. When healthy, we all know what he is capable of doing.
So the question becomes this: who gets sent down? With everyone playing at a high level, it’s a good problem to have. Currently the Jays are carrying 8 men in the bullpen. I imagine that there will be a move at some point to drop this back down to the traditional 7. Perhaps when Reyes returns? But who goes? My guess is either Juan Perez or Dustin McGowan. I think Perez does more for the team, but the Jays have a soft spot for McGowan and probably don’t want to risk losing him on waivers if they send him down after being so patient with him during 3 shoulder surgeries. Unfortunately, Perez might be the odd man out. It sounds awful to be sending down a guy that is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 10 innings, allowed only 5 hits, recorded 10 K’s, has held opponents to a .152 average, and produced a 0.80 WHIP. But Perez is a lefty. And the Jays already have three other lefties in the ‘pen (talk about luxury) in Aaron Loup, Darren Oliver, and Brett Cecil. But Perez is also out of options and would have to clear waivers. At $380,000, how could somebody not claim him? Neil Wagner has options and could be sent down, but the Jays have been keen on using him in clutch situations. It’s pretty hard to send down a guy who throws 96-98 mph and consistent strikes.
To me, if the Jays are going to really make a run and go for it, McGowan is the odd man out. I know…I know… We all want to see him do well. He continues to fight through adversity and never gives up. But he also has a contract which pays him $1.5 million this season and another $1.5 million next year. There is a club option for $4 million in 2015 with a $500,000 buyout. If anyone has a shot at clearing waivers, it’s a guy who has had three shoulder surgeries and is making that kind of money. And if he cleared waivers, you have to think he would accept a minor league assignment in triple-A since the Jays organization has been so good to him all these years.
It also makes sense from this standpoint: when Morrow comes back, Esmil Rogers probably gets pumped out of the rotation and back to the ‘pen. Replacing one righty with another makes sense. And I’d rather have Rogers than McGowan at this point.
Tough decisions for sure. It will be interesting to see how GM Alex Anthopoulos handles the next couple weeks. There are a lot of “good problems” right now with respects to the Jays roster.
@IHRTBJs
LaRoche Designated
To make room for Chien-Ming Wang, Adam LaRoche was designated for assignment after a very brief stint with the big club.
LaRoche, 29, appeared in just one game for the Jays this season and went 0-for-4. The infielder is a former top prospect who ranked on Baseball America’s Top 100 prospects list each year from 2005-08, placing as high as No. 19. However, in parts of six Major League seasons (1,336 plate appearances), he’s hit just .226 avg., .304 opb, .336 slg with 22 home runs. LaRoche, who has spent time with the Dodgers, Pirates, A’s and Blue Jays, was originally a 39th-round selection by the Dodgers in the 2003 draft.
This move isn’t surprising. What was surprising is that the Jays called up LaRoche in the first place. With Brett Lawrie on the DL, it seems to me that Mark DeRosa and Maicer Izturis should be able to handle the 3B load until Lawrie comes back. Calling up LaRoche was a bit of a head scratcher.
LaRoche is a good triple-A depth guy. If DeRosa or Izturis goes down prior to Lawrie’s and Jose Reye’s returns, that’s when he should get the call. Until then, he should be playing in Buffalo.
LaRoche has cleared waivers and will play in triple-A.
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Injury update: Santos, Johnson, Happ, Reyes, McGowan
I thought I’d take a couple minutes and provide an injury status update.
Sergio Santos: this is becoming more and more like last season when the Blue Jays said there was no serious issues with Santos and then the next thing we knew he was getting his shoulder sliced up and he was out for the year. Santos went on the DL this year on April 14th with right triceps inflammation and was scheduled to come back immediately following his two weeks off. No surprise that hasn’t happened. He is now having “clean up” surgery on his right elbow to remove bone spurs and such and has been transferred to the 60-day DL. Not sure he’ll have any contribution again this year although the Jays are saying he could be ready to pitch within 6 weeks of the surgery since it’s considered very minor.
Josh Johnson: He worked his scheduled 3 innings yesterday in a single-A rehab game and allowed 1 run on 3 hits while striking out 5. He says he threw all of his pitches in the outing. The Jays would like him to have 2 more rehab starts without any set backs in order to build up enough arm strength to pitch at the major league level. If everything goes as planned, he’ll be back with the big club early in June. He, like Santos, was originally diagnosed with right triceps inflammation.
J.A. Happ: Happ is recovering well from the extremely scary ball to the head a couple weeks ago on May 7th. The problem that is keeping him off the mound isn’t his head at all. When Happ went down, he strained his knee. The knee is still bothering him and has kept him from throwing off a mound. The Blue Jays think that Happ could be back by the end of June, assuming he is able to start throwing within the next week or so.
Jose Reyes: Reyes has been out since April 12 after severely spraining his ankle during an awkward slide into second base on a successful steal attempt. He recently shed the walking cast and is now hitting off a tee, taking batting practice, and fielding ground balls. About the only thing Reyes isn’t doing yet is running. The Jays thought he would be out until mid-July (around the allstar break) but this is the only player who seems to be ahead of schedule. It’s possible Reyes could be back by the end of June if he keeps progressing as positively as he has been.
Dustin McGowan: I only throw McGowan into this discussion because he seems to be advancing from his never-ending injuries and the Blue Jays will have a decision to make. McGowan is out of options and will have to clear waivers unless he is given a roster spot on the big club once he finishes he rehabbing and it appears he is getting close. McGowan is currently pitching in triple-A. Anything we get out of him has to be considered a bonus at this point.
I don’t have any news on Rajai Davis and his oblique strain – this type of injury is difficult to predict a time table for return. Then again, the Jays don’t have the best track record at predictions anyway.
@IHRTBJs
Blue Jays need a win today
After winning four in a row backed by a red hot offence that bats have gone cold in Yankee Stadium – and the Blue Jays can’t find a way to win at Yankee Stadium.
Friday night, Hiroki Kuroda was virtually unhittable. Not much you can do when a top line pitcher throws like that.
But yesterday’s loss was one that got away. The Jays managed to make David Phelps look like a Cy Young candidate. A rally killing pick off of Jose Bautista to end the 1st inning was very telling of how this game would play out. The Jays went 1-9 with runners in scoring position and left 14 men on bases in total.
And Brandon Morrow, making his first start in a couple weeks, looked sharp. He’s line didn’t reflect how well he threw. He had a live fastball and excellent command. Really the difference in this game was Robinson Cano – with his two homers he moved into first place tie in the American League home run race with 12.
But there are issues in the Jays line up. J.P. Arencibia is ice cold. He is that sort of player. When he is hot, he’s on fire. When he’s cold, they need to bat him 8th in the line up. And right now he is ice.
I mentioned it before and I know that the Jays did win 4 straight with the new-look line up of Melky Cabrera, Bautista, and Edwin Encarnacion batting 1, 2, 3, but I’m still not a huge fan. In the last 6 games with this line up, Emilio Bonifacio (who has finally been given consistent playing time – it’s about time) has hit .304. He should be leading off. Period.
Cabrera is the hottest hitter on the team. You have to have someone hitting in front of him with a chance to get on base. Cabrera has been raking doubles lately and you have to wonder how many would score Bonifacio from firstbase. Probably any of them if he was on.
Today we have R.A. Dickey vs. CC Sabathia. This one could go either way, but we really need a win. Lose today and we’re 11 back in the division – ouch. With a win, we can crawl back to Toronto down 9 with the next 7 games vs. AL East opponents. Let’s hope the knuckleball is doing its thing today.
Lefties are only hitting .195 vs. Sabathia so look for a righty heavy line up today.
For the record, for the 90 win season we need to go 73-46 in the remaining 119 games (play .613 ball the rest of the way). This is still possible, but it’s becoming much less probable with every series loss – especially vs. AL East opponents.
The hope is with Josh Johnson and Jose Reyes on the mend, the Jays can hang in long enough to get the stars back and they play like stars. That’s all we can hope for at this point.
@IHRTBJs
Injury Update – Johnson, Happ, Santos, McGowan, Hutchison, Drabek, Perez, Reyes
I thought I’d take a moment and let you know what I’ve heard on the injury front with respects to several Blue Jays:
Brandon Morrow – although not on the DL, had some back and neck spasms following his side session. Jays have bumped his start back to give him an extra two days rest and hope he’ll be ready to go Sunday vs. the Red Sox.
R.A. Dickey – although not on the DL, has had continuous neck/back issues this season. Before every start, Dickey says it feels as good as it has in a long time. Then he pitches and it flairs up again. My guess is that if everyone else was healthy and Romero was throwing well, the Jays would give Dickey a couple weeks off to heal. However, with lack of starting depth due to injuries and the fact that an MRI showed no structural damage, the Jays will let Dickey pitch threw the pain as long as he is mildly effective (which he has been).
Josh Johnson – strained right triceps. Threw on flat ground this week on Wednesday. The goal is to have him build up arm strength so he can make a minor league rehab start on May 21st. Assuming there are no set backs, the Jays expect to have him back with the big club early June.
J.A. Happ – head and knee. After escaping a vicious line drive off his head/ear this week, the injury that will keep Happ out of the line up for a while is actually his knee. When the ball struck him in the head, he tweaked his knee as he was falling. The Jays project he will miss 4 – 6 weeks and expect him back mid-late June.
Sergio Santos – right triceps strain. Is throwing in Florida at extended spring training and will be making appearances this week in minor league games. The Jays want him to show he can go back-to-back days before bringing him back, so he figures to be out at least another week. I imagine he’ll be back late May barring any set backs. He says he is still sore but it’s not nearly as bad as it was. This could be a recurring injury in my opinion.
Dustin McGowan – the always injured McGowan is recovery from his latest shoulder surgery last year. He is throwing and throwing well. The Jays will have a decision to make when they take him off the DL since he is out of options. However, I doubt with his injury history another club will take on his $1.5 million contract and would likely let him clear waivers. McGowan would likely accept a minor league assignment and be loyal to the organization that gave him a contract despite his injury record. The Jays see him as a reliever, but with all the injuries to the rotation, do they start stretching him out?
Drew Hutchison – tommy john surgery last August. He is on track to be pitching in minor league games this summer. Is doing a throwing program to build up arm strength.
Kyle Drabek – same story as Hutchison but a month ahead. He is on track for minor league games in July.
Luis Perex – same story as Hutchison but two months earlier. He is on track for minor league games in June.
Jose Reyes – severe ankle sprain. Still due back sometime in July.
As you can see, nearly all the injuries are to pitchers. And while Morrow and Dickey have avoided the DL, if they aren’t 100% they won’t pitch 100%. But we have still lost 40% of our starting rotation and another 40% is pitching but banged up. The only one not hurt is beachball Buehrle who is looking to lower his 7.02 ERA.
After a series split, let’s take 2 of 3 in Boston and head home 4-3 on the trip. Tonight will be a tough one to win – Ramon Ortiz vs. John Lester. Yikes.
@IHRTBJs
Dickey Looks Sharp… but so is the pain in his back
R.A. Dickey has gotten better and better his last couple times out. And now his experiencing back pain.
The Blue Jays say that they don’t expect Dickey to miss his next start and I sincerely hope he doesn’t. But I’m beginning to not trust the Jays when it comes to the length of time they expect a player to be out.
First when Brett Lawrie went down during an exhibition game leading up to the world baseball classic, the Jays were optimistic that he would be ready in time to break camp with the team. Lawrie has only played in 4 games and was rushed through a shortened rehab assignment due to the injury to Jose Reyes and needing another infielder.
Then Jose Bautista went down with a mild ankle injury. He was expected to be fine enough to play the next day…then the next…then the next. He missed three games with the ankle came back for a handful and then missed 4 games due to back spasms – when he wasn’t expected to miss more than a single game.
The problem is when Bautista is playing, he hasn’t been 100% so he has DHed. But by DHing him, it forces Adam Lind out of the line up – right when it looked like Lind was seeing the ball really well.
Don’t get me wrong – I bench Lind over an 75% Bautista any day of the week, but it takes another bat – and a power lefty bat – out of the line up.
Now Dickey is hurt. He felt the back and neck tightening two starts ago against the Royals and then had it reoccur this week vs. the White Sox. But don’t worry; he won’t miss anytime (wink, wink).
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Blue Jays Lose Reyes to Ankle Injury
In the words of manager John Gibbons, losing Jose Reyes “is a nightmare”. Despite an 8-4 victory over the red hot Royals last evening, the mood among the Blue Jays clubhouse was somber to say the least after losing the teams spark plug, Jose Reyes, indefinitely with what appeared to be a serious ankle injury.
After a 2 rbi single that put the Jays up 8-4, Reyes successfully stole second – making him 5 for 5 in stolen base attempts this season – but also slid awkwardly feet first and severely rolled his left ankle inwardly. The early reports is that there is no fracture but the ankle is severely sprained – Reyes will have an MRI today to see the extent of the damage. Alex Anthopoulos estimates the Jays shortstop will miss anywhere from 1 – 3 months.
Having chronic ankle issues myself – I’ve been in multiple casts and on crutches several times – I suspect we will be lucky to see Reyes back for the Canada Day series vs. the Tigers.
Reyes says he heard a pop – in my experience that is most likely tendons popping off the bone. The body is resilient and these will reattach themselves, but for the first 7 – 10 days he won’t be able to walk hardly at all. The swelling with be massive and if he has his foot down (he needs to keep it elevated) he will feel a very painful throbbing in his ankle. Then he start putting some weight on the foot – I imagine he’ll do this for a full week. Then he’ll be able to do some light jogging and maybe start taking batting practice – probably a week. Then he needs to try running and cutting. Running a straight line won’t be that bad but his confidence to cut hard on the ankle will be wishy washy and that will take the most time. Running the bases and fielding are the biggest challenges. This could be 3 weeks before he gets comfortable. Then a week at least to get into minor league games. That puts us at June, so I’m saying early July for a return. However, we’ll see what the MRI says today.
One thing I know, ankle injuries like this are painful and also reoccurring. You wonder what this injury does to his defensive range since we have him for 4 more years (and to me it looks like his range is already diminishing – there have been several balls that seem like he could get to but doesn’t already this season).
But he does get on base and get in pitchers heads. The sooner he is back, the better. But the Jays need him to be 100% confident on the ankle before bringing him back.
Anthopoulos has said that the team is already discussing trades to provide a backstop for a few months until Reyes is healthy. I would’ve though Maicer Izturis would have taken the role. But the Jays don’t want to rush Ryan Goins (triple-A SS) or have Mike McCoy’s bat on the team for an extended period. Rumours are swirling that John McDonald could be brought back. While I would welcome back Johnny Mac in a heartbeat…I don’t see it happening. The price for a back up SS just went up now that every GM in the league knows we want one. And to give up a player in a trade for one, well, I guess it depends on the player.
Jeremy Jeffress’ deadline to be released, traded, or placed on waivers before heading to the minors is tomorrow. I wonder if he can be sent somewhere for a 2nd or 3rd string SS.
I wish Reyes a fast and speedy recovery.
@IHRTBJs
Blue Jays Talk 