TORONTO – Scheduled to face as many as five left-handed starters when they head out west later this week, the Toronto Blue Jays are thinking about recalling catcher Erik Kratz to give them another right-handed bat for the trip.
The Blue Jays lost three straight games to lefties over the weekend against the Chicago White Sox, and while they didn’t have Jose Bautista in those contests, their lineup was also thinned by the absence of Brett Lawrie and Kratz, optioned when outfielders Anthony Gose and Kevin Pillar were brought up.
Kratz is eligible for recall Thursday, right when the Blue Jays open their four-game series in Oakland against the Athletics, who have lefties scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
“We’ve been talking, we didn’t want to send him out but we had to,” manager John Gibbons said Tuesday before a 4-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. “Yeah, we’d like to get him back, some way. I think he makes us a better team when he’s around.”
The Blue Jays should have additional reinforcements later this week, too, as Brett Cecil is eligible to come off the disabled list Friday. He’ll make a second rehab appearance with triple-A Buffalo on Thursday before a determination on his status is made.
