ANAHEIM, Calif. – Nolan Reimold’s arrival Monday triggered a series of playing-time adjustments for the Toronto Blue Jays, who intend to use their new outfielder in right until Jose Bautista, currently manning first base in Edwin Encarnacion’s absence, is ready to resume regular duties there.
Manager John Gibbons also revealed that centre-fielder Colby Rasmus will platoon with Darin Mastroianni and that Cole Gillespie will face lefties at DH in place of Adam Lind. The new alignment will come into place Tuesday, when southpaw Tyler Skaggs is slated to start for the Los Angeles Angels.
“Until Jose goes back out to right we’re going to give Reimold the everyday at-bats out there, Gillespie, he’ll platoon with Lindy, we’ll see what he can do against some lefties,” is how manager John Gibbons explained it. “Then we’re going to start platooning Rasmus in centre a bit with Mastroianni, until he gets going.”
Rasmus is batting .200/.279/.400 since returning from a hamstring injury June 18, but has just two hits, both of them homers, in his past 10 games. He also recently jammed his wrist, but Gibbons doesn’t believe the slump is connected.
“I think that’s beyond him,” he explained. “He’s like everybody else, been struggling a little bit. But he’s due to heat up.”
The shuffle appears to mean that for now there is no place for catcher Erik Kratz or first baseman Dan Johnson, two possible options at triple-A Buffalo.
“We’d like to get him back, I don’t know if we can put it all together where he fits,” Gibbons said of Kratz. “He can help us, he helped us when he was here. I think he’d be a big addition.”
As for Johnson, Gibbons said: “We’ve talked about a bunch of different guys, you know? That could happen somehow.”
As for Encarnacion, who was placed on the disabled list Monday with his right quad strain, Gibbons said there was no timeline on his return.
“We’ve got no idea, hopefully it’s not too long,” he said, when pressed on the matter.
