There was a moment of confusion this afternoon as reporters tried to sort out the moves the club was due to make with its roster. It was known that Kevin Pillar would be returning to the lineup, having served his two game suspension for using a homophobic slur on the field, but it turned out it wasn’t quite as simple a process as sending Dwight Smith back to Buffalo.
In the end we can sum all the moves up fairly succinctly:
– Martin activated from DL
– Pillar returned from suspension
– Cesar Valdez up
– Ohlman DFA'd
– Sanchez to 10 day DL
– Smith Jr. down— Blue Jays Nation (@thejaysnation) May 20, 2017
Getting to that point, however, was a bit of an event…
C Mike Ohlman packing up his locker. No official word yet. #BlueJays
— Hazel Mae (@thehazelmae) May 20, 2017
Source tells me Russell Martin is playing tonight. https://t.co/irv5RawS4P
— Hazel Mae (@thehazelmae) May 20, 2017
Dwight Smith Jr and Anthony Alford still in #BlueJays clubhouse. Mike Ohlman packing up his locker. No confirmation on roster moves yet.
— Laura Armstrong (@lauraarmy) May 20, 2017
Reliever Cesar Valdez up with #BlueJays. Corresponding move not yet known.
— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) May 20, 2017
Martin is back. Ohlman is leaving but that's just one of several moves coming today. #BlueJays
— Gregor Chisholm (@gregorMLB) May 20, 2017
Dwight Smith Jr is packing up. #BlueJays
— Gregor Chisholm (@gregorMLB) May 20, 2017
Aaron Sanchez could be headed back to DL. Still trying to confirm. Hang on to your hats..#BlueJays
— Hazel Mae (@thehazelmae) May 20, 2017
Russell Martin activated. Says he feels good. Mike Ohlman goes down
— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) May 20, 2017
This is like piecing together a puzzle. #BlueJays have nine relievers listed on lineup card. Likely means a move is coming with a starter.
— Gregor Chisholm (@gregorMLB) May 20, 2017
Martin is back. Pillar is back. Looks like Ohlman and Dwight Smith Jr. drop. #BlueJays
— Laura Armstrong (@lauraarmy) May 20, 2017
Ohlman has no options remaining so he must have been DFAed. Makes 40-man spot for Pillar. https://t.co/UWhiYwYGhX
— Minor Leaguer (@Minor_Leaguer) May 20, 2017
Sanchez back on the DL. #BlueJays
— Gregor Chisholm (@gregorMLB) May 20, 2017
TBJ Roster Moves: C Russell Martin activated from DL, Pillar returned from suspension, RHP Cesar Valdez recalled from Buffalo.
— Blue Jays PR (@BlueJaysPR) May 20, 2017
Roster moves cont… C Mike Ohlman DFA, RHP Aaron Sanchez on 10 day DL (R middle finger laceration)…Dwight Smith Jr. optioned Buffalo
— Blue Jays PR (@BlueJaysPR) May 20, 2017
Sanchez on DL with right middle finger laceration. Said he felt "a little pain" last night. #BlueJays' rotation depth tested again
— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) May 20, 2017
OK… thoughts:
- Pillar was going to be back today so we knew this was coming.
- Smith going down is somewhat interesting, as it means that Anthony Alford is still here —
and slated to start again tonight in Baltimorenot sure why I wrote that originally, as he’s not starting and I don’t think ever was. Anyway, this says a lot about what the club thinks of him, I think. Though it probably also says something about what they think of the idea of Ezequiel Carrera being their backup CF. - Martin returning is surprising and awesome! It sounded like he was making important progress when it was reported that he was catching Francisco Liriano’s bullpen session on Thursday, and I guess he was! HUGE!
- Ohlman getting D’d FA is interesting, as there was some thought that the Jays might option Luke Maile back to Buffalo, as they could have easily done that without risking losing him as a piece of organizational depth. But I guess they really do like his game calling and defence enough. Reasonable, even though Ohlman is a mildly intriguing bat.
- I’ll mention Valdez here so that I can conclude on Sanchez, but on his arrival… meh.
- The Sanchez thing succccccks! This is last year’s AL ERA leader’s third trip to the DL already this season, and it’s still just the 20th of May. A big part of it — hopefully — is the fact that MLB has switched from the 15-day DL to the new 10-day one. With two off-days next week, Sanchez is perhaps only going to miss one start here. And if they thought he’d be dicey to make it anyway, having eight games of an extra body on the bench or in the bullpen is probably a worthwhile trade-off to make. His right middle finger, of course, is the same on he recently underwent his “procedure” on, which removed a portion of the fingernail. So… that’s not working out so great, eh?
To that last point:
Gibbons specifically mentioned that it's a blister causing issues once again for Sanchez. No mention of the nail. Blister's back. #BlueJays
— Gregor Chisholm (@gregorMLB) May 20, 2017
Awesommmmmmmme.
Gibbons: "It's a blister thing. We want to knock it out. It's aggravating him. If we don't get rid of it then it'll probably linger forever"
— Gregor Chisholm (@gregorMLB) May 20, 2017
So… maybe I was being optimistic hoping he misses just a single start. Yeesh.
I just say we cut that damn middle finger off! What do you all say?!?!?
And replace it with a robotic finger! That shoots lasers!
“A flurry of moves,” which have no impact of the Jays actually winning games. Great read though!
Yeah. Getting Martin back is just pointless…
Promised?
Yes, because no sports franchise in history has ever lied about the relative health of their players.
C’mon man.
You do know that there are no certainties in the world of sports injuries right? They just suck.
Dude – Gibby saying “we hope to have ’em back by next weekend” while drinking a Sam Adams is not the same as “between you and me I promise you a large cash settlement.” Guys go on rehab, sometimes the injuries don’t respond like you’d hoped. But hey, if hoping = lying, then I’m lying when I say I really would to be able to get out to the ballpark this month.
Look, it’s common knowledge blisters are serial liars and cannot be trusted. He’s right, it’s on the front office for not knowing this when they spoke with the blister.
And as far as Tulo and Dosh are concerned, folks, I don’t know about you but I live in a world where Gibby’s hopes are always and immediately granted. So SOMEBODY IS DEFINITELY LYING HERE AND I DEMAND ANSWERS
Yes. I guess it was irresponsible of me but I really needed him to do his homework.
Pinkie swore too.
You mean they’ve never had a single player go beyond the allotted time frame from their estimation?
Get over yourself.
Oh please, the Raps are known for being total obfuscators when it comes to roster health. If you’re gonna make crazy sweeping statements at least get your reference points right.