CHICAGO – Bo Schultz rejoined the Toronto Blue Jays from triple-A Buffalo on Sunday when fellow right-handed reliever Gavin Floyd was placed on the 15-day disabled list with shoulder tightness.
Floyd pulled himself from Saturday’s 10-8 win over the Chicago White Sox after just four pitches and the team was awaiting word on the results of an MRI taken early Sunday morning.
Schultz, who underwent surgery on his left hip during the off-season and continued his rehab into the season, had been rolling of late for the Bisons. Since May 24, he’s allowed only 11 baserunners with 12 strikeouts over 13.2 innings as he’s regained trust in his stuff and a rhythm on the mound.
“I stopped trying to do too much,” Schultz said. “Towards the end of my rehab assignment I was trying to prove my arm was back, my body was back and I was trying to throw hard without really accomplishing anything. I was trying to light up a radar gun and just expect the results to come, rather than trusting my arm strength will be there. My body is recovered, my hip is now allowing me to do what I’ve done in the past to succeed, and just trust that everything is going to line up. It’s cliché, but it’s been a matter of connecting the dots and letting things fall as they may.”
The 30-year-old appeared in 31 games for the Blue Jays last season, posting a 3.56 ERA over 43 innings with a 1.070 WHIP and 6.5 strikeouts per nine innings. He mainly relies on a fastball/slider combination, but can mix in a changeup on occasion.
“I believe everything is getting back,” Schultz said of his repertoire. “Now it’s just a matter of grabbing that ball and throwing it and believing the right thing will happen, trusting that more often not, even against the best hitters in the world, I’m going to succeed.”
The Blue Jays need him to continue that, as Floyd’s absence leaves a hole. Saturday was his 28th game, and he’s 2-4 with a 4.06 ERA over 31 innings with 30 strikeouts.
Good news is that Brett Cecil is making quick progress toward a return with the Bisons. He made his third rehab appearance Saturday night, first at triple-A, and allowed one hit in a scoreless inning of work. Fellow lefty Franklin Morales is slated to pitch Sunday.
“Feeling great, having no issues at all right now,” Blue Jays head trainer George Poulis said of Cecil. “That’s real good news there. Same with Franklin. Feeling really good.”
Meanwhile Jose Bautista, on the disabled list with turf toe, continues to make progress although there remains no sense of when he might be ready for a return. He still has another week and a half or so in a walking boot before an accurate assessment can be made.
“Jose says he’s feeling better and better each day, the swelling is going down in his toe,” said Poulis. “He’s in the boot now short-term, we’re trying to get him over that pain/swelling mode and then move to the next phase of strengthening, range of motion, stuff like that.”
