TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays bullpen is about to get a welcome infusion of depth.
Relievers Dustin McGowan and Steve Delabar will join the team when rosters expand Sunday, manager John Gibbons said before Saturday’s game between the Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals.
For now, McGowan and Delabar may be the only newcomers on their way to Toronto.
“Other than that, we’re not sure right now,” Gibbons said. “Those two you can bank on it.”
Both McGowan and Delabar pitched scoreless innings for the Dunedin Blue Jays Friday.
McGowan, who was placed on the disabled list with a right oblique strain on Aug. 1, was making his first rehab assignment. Delabar, who was placed on the disabled list with right shoulder inflammation Aug. 4, pitched an inning for the Gulf Coast Blue Jays Wednesday.
The Blue Jays will also call up a third catcher in the coming days, but it may not be A.J. Jimenez as initially anticipated. Jimenez, who underwent Tommy John surgery last year, recently had a nerve in his elbow flare up on him.
“He’s got a history of arm problems, so we’ve got to see how bad it is,” Gibbons said.
The 23-year-old will be re-evaluated in the coming days, at which point the Blue Jays will determine whether to recall him or select the contract of Mike Nickeas. Gibbons acknowledged that the Blue Jays would lean toward adding Nickeas to the roster if Jimenez requires additional rest.
STOMACH PAINS FOR BUEHRLE: Mark Buehrle was dealing with stomach discomfort Friday, when he pitched seven scoreless innings in the Blue Jays’ 3-2 win over the Royals. He felt fine for most of the game, but his stomach started bothering him as the evening progressed.
“A bad mixture of drugs or too much to drink the night before,” he joked. “I don’t know what it was.”
Buehrle left the ballpark early Friday after lowering his season ERA to 3.92. The left-hander has completed 179 innings so far this year and seems poised to reach the 200-inning plateau for the 13th consecutive season.
While Buehrle’s undeniably on a roll, he says his stuff has been better.
“The last couple of starts, I haven’t been feeling the greatest,” he said. “I’m getting ahead in the count and they’re putting the ball in play. That’s my recipe for pitching. I feel decent health-wise.”
GOINS PLACES: Ryan Goins has only been with the Blue Jays for seven games, but he has already made an impression. The 25-year-old Texan has 11 hits in 26 at bats and has played errorless defence at second base.
“He’s done everything for us. Offensively, defensively, he really has,” Gibbons said. “More than I expected.”
The Blue Jays aren’t making Goins any promises — he hit a pedestrian .257/.311/.369 before being called up from triple-A — but they’re interested in seeing what he can do over the course of the last month of the season.
“There are no guarantees, but if he can look that good for a week, who’s to say he can’t do it for a lifetime,” Gibbons said.
The Blue Jays don’t have a clear answer at second base heading into 2014, and there’s a chance Goins could be in the mix for playing time next year.
“It’d be nice if he comes in, steps up and becomes that guy,” Gibbons said. “He might be that guy.”
MORROW IN TORONTO: Brandon Morrow won’t pitch again this season, but the right-hander is in Toronto to check in with his team. Morrow is resting his pitching arm due to an entrapped radial nerve that has sidelined him since the end of May. There’s hope that the nerve issue will improve with rest by the beginning of October.
