Steve Pearce Gets a Rehab Start in New Hampshire

Oh, well this is news:

For some reason the Jays have been rather mum on the progress Steve Pearce has been making as he’s dealt with a calf injury. A little over a week ago, John Gibbons told reporters that Pearce was two or three weeks away, and… actually that timeline checks out.

Chris Coghlan, we hardly knew ye!

The thing about the situation for the Jays in left field is, I don’t think it’s quite as bad as some fans like to make out. Ezequiel Carrera has a tough time out there sometimes, and he gets a bit exposed as an everyday player, but he’s actually been holding it down with the bat. Zeke’s Thunder has produced a .289/.357/.395 slash line on the season, which is good for a 106 wRC+. The on-base there is especially tasty! And… well… frankly, Pearce isn’t going to help a whole lot in terms of defence out there anyway. At least not as compared to Zeke.

He’ll look more comfortable than Coghlan or Darwin Barney out there, though! And he’ll add yet another bat to what’s now a rather dangerous lineup.

The dream of Pearce stealing Justin Smoak’s job at first base seems to be dead, but that doesn’t mean the Jays can’t use him — and fast. The Jays are due to face a pair of lefty starters in Seattle on Saturday and Sunday (Ariel Miranda and James Paxton), and while that’s probably too soon to hope that Pearce might be ready for the big leagues for then… maybe he could be!

Either way, his return — the return of another actual, usable bat either in the outfield or on the bench… or, oh shit, right! At second base, too! — will be damn welcome.