CLEVELAND – Troy Tulowitzki and Josh Donaldson were nursing minor injuries Friday, prompting the Toronto Blue Jays to recall infielder Ryan Goins from triple-A Buffalo for the opener of a three-game series against the Cleveland Indians.
Tulowitzki tweaked his right calf when play resumed following the rain delay during Tuesday’s 12-6 win in New York, and got worse during a 7-4 win over the Yankees on Wednesday afternoon.
He did some exercises Friday and while manager John Gibbons noted the star shortstop “could probably play if he had to,” the team opted for caution. “If he re-aggravates it and makes it worse, we’re in a bind,” Gibbons reasoned.
Tulowitzki understood the decision.
“I think after that rain delay, I came out on the field doing some stretching, trying to get loose for the game, just felt a little uncomfortable, and then the next day, with the quick turnaround for the day game, it caught up with me a little bit. Nothing serious,” said Tulowitzki. “We want to be out in front of it, not let it get too bad. To be honest, I tried to prepare to play today. The coaches kind of overruled me and wanted me to take another day.”
Donaldson jammed his thumb Wednesday and was hopeful that Thursday’s off-day would be enough time for him to recover.
Instead, the Blue Jays decided to “get him another day,” said Gibbons. “We’ll evaluate as we go along but we don’t think it will be too much longer. …
“Both should be all right [Saturday], hopefully. We’ll see.”
Goins was in the lineup at shortstop Friday, batting ninth. Outfielder Darrell Ceciliani was optioned to Buffalo to make room.
Meanwhile, Gibbons said Thursday’s day off won’t affect the current turn of the rotation but suggested the Blue Jays may skip Aaron Sanchez for a start after his outing Saturday.
“There’s a chance we could back him off after that. Get a little breather there,” said Gibbons. “[The six-man rotation] is not necessarily ideal but they’ve all responded so far, one go-around they’ve all been fine for the most part. We’ll run it and see how it works, and then we’ll give Sanchie what he needs. If we give him a little break everyone else will fall in place on their regular turn, anyway.”
Any decision to skip Sanchez won’t be related to opponent. His next turn would be next Saturday at home against the Minnesota Twins.
“A big-league team is a big-league team. On any given day, anybody can beat anybody. It might be a little arrogant,” Gibbons said of trying to save Sanchez for tougher clubs. “We’re going to look at where he’s at and when he needs it, he needs it.”
With the extra days off, Gibbons said Marco Estrada volunteered to pitch out of the bullpen Saturday or Sunday if needed.
