ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – J.P. Howell hit the disabled list for just the third time in his 14-year professional career Sunday due to a left shoulder strain that the Toronto Blue Jays left-hander doesn’t expect will keep him out beyond 10 days.
The move came partly due to the bullpen still playing catchup from the 7.2 innings logged Friday along with four more frames in Saturday’s 11-inning loss. Howell said his shoulder was already feeling better Sunday, but knew the team would be exposed if it didn’t recall reliever Dominic Leone from triple-A Buffalo.
"You’ve just got to give it time and sometimes it’s patience and for a couple of days off it cost me a DL stint," Howell said after a 7-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. "But roll with it, take advantage of the time and get better for the long haul."
Howell first noticed the discomfort while warming Thursday night but he didn’t pitch in that game. He then felt it again while facing four batters without recording an out in Friday’s 10-8 loss, when he uncharacteristically couldn’t find the zone.
"I hate making excuses but it had something to do with it," he said. "I threw three strikes out of 15 pitches, that’s not it, that’s not me and I don’t want to perform like that for the team, especially with how heartbreaking of a loss that was. Let’s get it right and get things moving."
Howell’s only other DL time bookended a shoulder surgery that cost him the entire 2010 season, with the recovery carrying over into 2011.
"It got me a little nervous," he said of the new shoulder strain. "I tried to pitch through it, I couldn’t. I pitch through a lot of things all the time and this one was just a little too much. I couldn’t extend and finish some pitches off. It’s a hard move for me to make, I’ve never done it in the middle of the year unless I needed surgery, so it was a tough move and it was tough to admit.
"Six months to go, it’s too long to pitch like that."
Leone, optioned after throwing 2.2 innings Friday, arrived in Buffalo and almost immediately headed back south.
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