ANAHEIM, Calif. – A right hamstring strain made Troy Tulowitzki the latest Toronto Blue Jays player to hit the disabled list Saturday, while Aaron Sanchez took a step toward his return by throwing at 90 feet without issue.
There’s no timeline back for either player at this point.
The DL stint for Tulowitzki in combination with Friday’s 8-7, 13-inning meat-grinder led to a series of roster moves. Saturday starter Casey Lawrence was activated, the contract of right-hander Leonel Campos was purchased from triple-A Buffalo, righty Danny Barnes was optioned and Dalton Pompey was moved to the 60-day DL as he continues to recover from a concussion.
“Overall we weren’t playing great baseball anyway, but you just deal with it,” manager John Gibbons said of the injuries, which also include third baseman Josh Donaldson, 20-game winner J.A. Happ and lefty reliever J.P. Howell. “That’s a part of it. We were pretty fortunate the last couple of years, this year it’s hitting us, but hopefully it doesn’t last too long. Everybody deals with it.”
Tulowitzki left Friday’s game in the eighth inning after feeling a grab in his right hamstring advancing to third base on a wild pitch. He got up slowly and walked off the field immediately and the Blue Jays didn’t bother spending a few days in the hopes of a quicker return, opting to use the new 10-day DL.
“That’s definitely a factor now. It’s a pretty good rule change. But we can’t take any chances. We don’t think it’s that big a deal, but big enough to put him out for 10 days, though,” said Gibbons. “You want to try to get rid of it so you don’t have to worry about it the rest of the year.”
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Sanchez, meanwhile, threw nothing but two- and four-seamers at 90 feet for the first time since undergoing a procedure last Monday to have a quarter of the nail on his right middle finger removed to prevent his recurring blister problems.
The Blue Jays are hoping he’ll be ready to pitch Thursday in St. Louis. While Sanchez described the session Saturday as “kind of a breath of fresh air,” he didn’t spin any curveballs making a start next seem unlikely.
“I’m not sure how quickly we’re going to do that,” he said of throwing the curveball. “It’s more let’s make sure this finger progresses in the right way. I’ll do that for a few more days, get my finger used to it and when the time is right that’s when we’ll do that.
“I want to get back there as fast as I can but, at the same time, understand my limit and what it can take. That’s first and foremost.”
Sanchez felt “a little bit of pressure” on his fingertip throwing his fastball Saturday but expected that during a session in which he drew nothing but positives.
“The good thing for me was that at the end of my release there was no more manipulation with my arm, with my mechanics, to make sure my finger feels good,” he said. “It was fluid start to finish and hopefully we can keep progressing and not regressing.”
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