CHICAGO – Back from a right quad strain he initially thought would end his season, Edwin Encarnacion rejoined the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday eager to play after the longest injury absence of his career.
The all-star slugger, returning on the heels of Adam Lind’s activation from the DL on Monday, was in his customary cleanup spot as the designated hitter, where manager John Gibbons expects to predominantly use him in the coming weeks.
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Encarnacion said the strain, suffered in the high part of his leg near the torso, is “almost 100 percent.” He played four rehab games – two each at single-A Dunedin and triple-A Buffalo – before his activation and feels confident in where he’s at in the batter’s box.
“I was surprised the way I was seeing the pitches, I’ve been seeing the pitches good in the four games in the minor-leagues,” he said. “I was thinking it was going to be different with my timing and I saw the ball good right now and my timing is good. We’ll see now, here.”
Encarnacion missed 33 games after injuring himself running down the first-base line July 5 in a 5-1 loss at Oakland, with the Blue Jays going 16-17 in his absence. Lind missed 28 games with a fracture in his right foot while Brett Lawrie remains on the DL with a left oblique strain, and minus the middle of its lineup, the club slid in the standings.
“We just have to start winning games,” Encarnacion said of the deficit the Blue Jays face in the standings. “Game by game. Everybody’s close so it’s going to be very fun to play the next two months here and see how we’re going to finish.”
It’s a playoff run he didn’t expect to be a part of when he tumbled to the ground and rolled violently after stepping on first base in Oakland.
“I thought it was going to be something worse,” he said. “I’m glad and thank God to bless me and get back quicker. When that happened I didn’t think I would play any more this year.”
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OPTIONED OUT: Outfielder Anthony Gose was optioned to triple-A Buffalo to make room for Edwin Encarnacion, ending up the odd man out because he had an option and the Blue Jays wanted to keep the infield depth Juan Francisco provides intact.
“It wasn’t an easy decision,” manager John Gibbons said. “Gose helps you win in different ways.”
Francisco had a big May but has mostly struggled since, batting .184 with a .620 OPS since June 1. But his ability to play first and third gives Gibbons some flexibility as well as some depth during Brett Lawrie’s continuing absence.
“The last couple weeks he’s had his struggles,” Gibbons said of Francisco. “But he’s also thrown some decent at-bats together. We need him to get going, too, there’s no question about that. [With Encarnacion and Lind coming back] we can slide him down a little bit and hope he catches a few of them.”
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NEWS AND NOTES: Blue Jays right-handed relief prospect John Stilson underwent surgery to repair the labrum in his shoulder and is facing a recovery of 6-8 months. He posted a 3.18 ERA in 25 games at triple-A Buffalo and was considered likely to pitch in the big-leagues at some point until his injury. … Dan Johnson, out since July 31 with left hamstring strain, is expected to start a rehab assignment this weekend at triple-A Buffalo.
