ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – In trying to protect the left ankle he injured earlier this season, Jose Reyes believes he caused the soreness in his right knee that is expected to keep him out of the Toronto Blue Jays lineup until at least Tuesday.
The slick shortstop sat out Saturday for the first time since returning June 26 from the ankle sprain that cost him 66 games and manager John Gibbons’ plan was to sit him for Sunday’s series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays, as well.
Combined with Monday’s off-day, that would give Reyes three full days of rest ahead of a doubleheader in New York against the Yankees.
"I hope I’m going to be in the lineup Tuesday," said Reyes. "I’m going to do my treatment and see what’s going on. I don’t want my knee to get worse, because I’ve never had problems with my knee before."
Taking extra caution in that regard makes sense since the Blue Jays must be wary of one problem turning into two, even though Reyes’ rest leaves the Blue Jays with just two middle infielders on the roster – Maicer Izturis and Mark DeRosa.
In a pinch, Gibbons said Brett Lawrie could play second or even shortstop, with Edwin Encarnacion sliding over to third base.
Munenori Kawasaki, on paternity leave for the birth of his son Friday, is expected to rejoin the Blue Jays on Tuesday in New York, as well, replenishing some depth up the middle. Should Reyes need additional time off, the only other middle infielder on the 40-man roster is Ryan Goins, triple-A Buffalo’s shortstop.
For now that’s premature, although Reyes hasn’t felt right for a while.
"It’s been bothering me maybe the last two weeks," he said. "The last couple of days is when I started to feel it the most. I put a lot of pressure on the good leg because I don’t want to put pressure on my ankle. That caused a little problem there, that’s my thought."
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MOVIN’ ON UP: The Blue Jays promoted top catching prospect A.J. Jimenez and left-hander Sean Nolin to triple-A Buffalo from double-A New Hampshire for the start of a four-game series at Pawtucket on Saturday.
Jimenez, who played in the Futures Game this season, was batting .276 with 15 doubles, three homers and 29 RBIs in 50 games with the Fisher Cats.
Nolin, who allowed six runs in his big-league debut May 24, was 8-3 with a 3.01 ERA and 103 strikeouts in 92.2 innings for New Hampshire. He’s schedule to start for Buffalo on Sunday.
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INJURY UPDATES: Blue Jays centre-fielder Colby Rasmus (left oblique) is feeling better and is getting closer to resuming physical activities, said manager John Gibbons. … Josh Johnson (forearm strain) is still waiting for Dr. James Andrews to review the MRIs that showed no damage to his elbow ligament. That’s expected to happen Monday.
