Toronto Blue Jays right-fielder Jose Bautista is heading to the 15-day disabled list with a sprained left knee sustained in Tuesday night’s loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. The club has called up outfielder Junior Lake from triple-A Buffalo.
Bautista injured the knee in the third inning when he stumbled to the ground while fielding a Kevin Kiermaier single.
“My cleat got caught in the turf, my knee got a little jerked there and I landed on it, too,” Bautista told media on Wednesday. “I can’t really tell if it was when my cleat got caught or when I landed on it. It’s a sprained knee nonetheless, on the DL, probably going to be back – hopefully – in the 15 days and finish out the season strong.”
Bautista, who returned to the lineup on July 25 after missing over a month with turf toe, underwent an MRI on Wednesday.
“I was surprised it felt the way it did this morning,” he said. “Obviously it was getting worse as the game was going so I knew I did something but I didn’t expect it to feel this bad when I woke up.”
Blue Jays outfielders Kevin Pillar (thumb) and Ezequiel Carrera (Achilles) are currently on the 15-day DL. Melvin Upton Jr. is slated to play centre field in Wednesday’s game, flanked by Darwin Barney in left and Michael Saunders in right.
