TORONTO – Fresh off a day at home in Atlanta following his most recent demotion from the Toronto Blue Jays, Chad Jenkins rejoined the triple-A Buffalo Bisons in Charlotte on Saturday and checked in with manager Gary Allenson.
“I was like, ‘Hey Slick, I’m back,'” Jenkins recalled. “He wasn’t serious but in a joking manner, he goes, ‘I wouldn’t unpack your bags, you probably won’t stay that long anyways.'”
Sure enough, his stay wasn’t long at all, recalled to the majors for the third time in 17 days Monday as Sergio Santos was placed on the disabled list with forearm soreness. Shortstop Jonathan Diaz was also promoted with Erik Kratz optioned to Buffalo, as the Blue Jays continue to keep the transaction wires buzzing.
Over the past three seasons, the longest they’ve gone without making a roster move is 13 days – from Sept. 7-21, 2012 – according to research compiled by Sportsnet’s Scott Carson.
If it feels like there’s a revolving door on the fringes of the roster, well, that’s because there is. Injuries have played a key role in that, but there’s also been near-constant shuffling in the bullpen and on the bench as the team has alternated between seven and eight relievers based on need.
That’s caused several players to be sent back and forth – Mike McCoy jetted to and from Las Vegas more regularly than a hardcore gambler when the 51s were the Blue Jays’ triple-A affiliate – and Jenkins has been the yo-yo so far this year.
Consider his plight the past 17 days: recalled on April 26; optioned on May 2; recalled on May 3; optioned on May 8; recalled Monday. During that span, he’s traveled from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to Toronto to Kansas City to Pittsburgh to Buffalo to Pittsburgh to Philadelphia to Toronto to Atlanta to Charlotte to Toronto.
Jenkins’s odyssey would have included another stint with the Blue Jays, too, but their attempt to recall him April 5 after Jeremy Jeffress was designated for assignment was rebuffed because he hadn’t spent 10 days in triple-A yet. The contract of Marcus Walden was subsequently purchased and he was later designated for assignment, costing them an asset when Oakland claimed him on waivers.
Regardless, Jenkins isn’t lacking for travel.
“I was laughing with my mom, ‘You know, I haven’t slept in the same bed more than two nights in a row in like 12 days,'” he said. “My back doesn’t know what a solid mattress feels like for more than three days.’ It’s been fun, it’s been a ride, it’s been crazy.'”
A side-effect of all the back and forth has been an erratic workload that has made staying sharp on the mound a challenge. The reliever pitched an inning May 7 against Philadelphia and then returned to the mound Saturday in Charlotte, where he allowed a run on three hits with four strikeouts in two innings.
“I was a little nervous, like what’s going to happen here,” he said. “I got out on the mound and that’s the best command I’ve had on my sinker all year.”
Still, there are other aggravations to be dealt with, too, as a series of delays Monday kept him from arriving at the Rogers Centre until 3 p.m. Diaz, who was bumped off the flight Jenkins was on from Charlotte, didn’t arrive until even later.
“It’s been an awful day,” Jenkins said. “Travel has been miserable.”
At least this time he was going in the desired direction.
—
REYES RESTS: Blue Jays shortstop Jose Reyes was given a day of rest Monday and manager John Gibbons insisted it had nothing to do with any soreness from his slide into home Sunday.
“He came up walking awkwardly, but no injury,” Gibbons said. “I told him before the game (Sunday) that he was getting the day off.”
—
DIAZ FOR DEFENCE: The Blue Jays chose to promote shortstop Jonathan Diaz to give themselves more defensive options, according to Gibbons.
“The way we’re looking at it, if we’re going to play (Juan) Francisco some at third, late in the game, maybe we’re looking for an above-average defender, Jonny Diaz can do that,” he said. “Jonny can also play the outfield, (Steve) Tolleson can play the infield and play the outfield. It gives us two guys that can play both spots.”
Gibbons said he met with Brett Lawrie to discuss the part-time move to second and that his third baseman “said he was fine with it. If it helps the team, he’s all for it.”
The manager added “it’s not locked in that we’re going to do it every time. The key is, Francisco hitting. If he keeps hitting, we want to get him in there.”
Lawrie started at third base against the left-handed C.J. Wilson on Monday.
—
SANTOS SORE: Sergio Santos’s return to the disabled list was done in the hopes of preventing the soreness in his forearm from developing into something more severe.
“We were going to give it a day just to see and we decided, you know what, in the long run it’s better off,” Gibbons said. “If it’s just two weeks, he gets through it.”
The Blue Jays reliever has hit the DL in each of his three seasons with the club, requiring surgery in each of the past two years.
“I’ve got no idea,” Gibbons replied when asked what made Santos so injury prone. “Injuries are common in baseball, nobody knows why that is either … Mechanically, I don’t know. Throwing is a violent act, so nobody knows. The only guys that enjoy seeing it are the orthopedic surgeons.”
