TORONTO — Two very important Toronto Blue Jays experiencing two very different issues are progressing on two very uncertain paths.
First, the Troy Tulowitzki news. The shortstop will undergo surgery Monday to remove bone spurs from each of his Achilles tendons. Optimistically, the Blue Jays hope Tulowitzki will recover from the procedure within six weeks and be ready to begin a two-week rehab assignment after that. You won’t see him in a Blue Jays uniform until at least June, possibly longer. More on that later.
Second, the Josh Donaldson update. After looking anything but himself when throwing to first base during Thursday’s season opener, Donaldson will serve as the Blue Jays designated hitter for the time being until he gets over what’s being described as a “dead arm” and sorts out a mechanical hiccup with his throwing motion.
“Physically and structurally, he’s fine,” said Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins. “It’s not a medical issue. This is an issue that — he doesn’t feel the best that he can possibly feel mechanically. He’s working through that.”
Donaldson’s been run through plenty of tests that have revealed no structural damage, and the third baseman hasn’t reported feeling excessive pain. He did battle some shoulder soreness during spring training, but hasn’t experienced any since the Blue Jays came north. He says the issue came and went throughout camp, and that “it’s just about getting strength back.”
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Donaldson can swing the bat the way he always does, and his range of motion isn’t limited. Thursday, he stole second base and slid head-first with his arms extended above his head. The issue is purely with his throws to first.
“I think every player goes through it on some level,” said Atkins, who phoned a pair of former players he’s close with Friday to discuss their experiences with similar non-physical throwing issues. “It impacts his ability to be consistent with his slot, be consistent with his release — and that impacts accuracy and power.
“I think it really is a day-to-day issue. It could be a week. It could be significantly more. It could be less.”
The challenge for Donaldson and the Blue Jays is there’s no treatment and no remedy for the issue. There’s nothing to diagnose, nothing to prescribe. Donaldson merely has to work through it on his own.
And the 32-year-old took steps toward that Friday afternoon, completing a series of throws on the field at Rogers Centre. He’ll continue to do that in the coming days, but the Blue Jays can never perfectly simulate the kinds of throws he’ll have to make in a game. At some point, he’s going to have to test his arm in live play and see if his strength is there.
“He’s going through a dead arm phase. We’ve been very respectful of him managing that. We feel good about him structurally and where he is physically. And we feel that it’s best for him to DH and see if we can help him through that phase a bit better,” Atkins said. “We’ll get more information each day. When he threw today he felt better. And it looked better, subjectively. So, we’ll have to take it day by day.”
Tulowitzki, meanwhile, is experiencing a much more tangible issue. After spending his off-season recovering from a ligament tear and compression fracture he suffered in his right ankle last July, the 33-year-old began experiencing pain in the same ankle caused by pre-existing chronic bone spurs he’d been playing through for anywhere from three to five years.
Then, he began experiencing similar pain caused by bone spurs in his left ankle. He consulted with five foot and ankle specialists, and visited three in person for physical examinations. They all recommended Tulowitzki continue trying to manage the pain and work through the issues.
He did, regularly taking batting practice and fielding ground balls during spring training. But when he attempted to progress to running near the end of camp, he found it too painful to do so.
Upon consulting with a specialist earlier this week, it was determined that Tulowitzki should explore the next level of treatment — surgery. That happens Monday. He won’t be back in a baseball game until late May at least.
“It’s been frustrating, obviously. It’s been a frustrating off-season,” Atkins said when asked how Tulowitzki took the news. “This is his decision. He’s driving it. He’s been driving the whole process. … At this point, without conservative treatment working, [surgery] is the next step.”
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These developments for both Donaldson and Tulowitzki are troubling for the Blue Jays, who are one game into the regular season and already down the entire left half of their infield. Donaldson can at least still hit and Tulowitzki’s issue at least has a timeline, but this isn’t how they drew it up.
Expect to see plenty of Aledmys Diaz at shortstop in the coming months, with Gift Ngoepe and Yangervis Solarte mixed in. Those latter two will fill in plenty at third base, as well, until Donaldson’s ready to resume playing the field. Starting catcher Russell Martin is also an option at third, having played 77 innings there last season.
And don’t forget, Devon Travis’s workload will be carefully managed this season as well, requiring Solarte and Ngoepe to fill in intermittently at second. Then there’s Kendrys Morales, whose only path to playing time will be at first base while Donaldson serves as the DH.
“One of the reasons we acquired Solarte was to provide better depth. We certainly weren’t expecting this issue to come about,” Atkins said. “But having depth across our infield and versatility is always very important.”
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