BOSTON – The Toronto Blue Jays won’t specify exactly what type of injury top prospect Anthony Alford suffered, but the centre-fielder is trying to rehabilitate his right knee in an effort to return to the field without surgery.
Alford was hurt sliding into home during the sixth inning single-A Dunedin’s season opening 6-2 win over Clearwater on April 7 and hasn’t played since.
Blue Jays assistant GM Tony LaCava would only say Saturday that “right now we’re taking a conservative approach, and we’re just going to rehab and strengthen it and try to get him back on the field, hopefully sooner than later.”
An attempt to rehab a knee injury suggests some degree of strain to a ligament, and it’s worth noting that when Alford was a junior in high school, he underwent surgery to repair the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
Alford emerged as someone now widely considered the organization’s top prospect last year when he slashed .298/.398/.421 with four homers, 25 doubles and 27 stolen bases in 107 games between low-A Lansing and Dunedin.
It was his first full year concentrating on baseball after ending his college football career, and the primary challenge he faced was making up for the lost development time. A third-round pick in 2012, Alford has only professional 752 plate appearances, including 152 in Australia in 2014.
