TORONTO – Jose Bautista will miss at least a day or two, and possibly longer, after the Toronto Blue Jays slugger aggravated a nagging shoulder injury by making a throw in anger against the Baltimore Orioles.
The all-star right-fielder underwent an MRI following Tuesday’s emotional 13-6 victory that revealed a strain, and the pain was severe enough that he was completely unavailable for Wednesday’s contest.
Manager John Gibbons had planned to give Bautista, a career 2-for-29 against starter Ubaldo Jimenez, the night off anyway, but the concern now is that he may miss more than just the one game, perhaps even needing a stint on the disabled list.
“I probably shouldn’t have made that throw in the eighth inning to first base,” said Bautista, “but I did so I can’t take it back now.”
On the play in question, he fielded a Delmon Young single in the top of the eighth and seemed to put every ounce of energy he had into throwing the burly Orioles slugger out at first base. His throw was a bit wide, and Young was safe by a couple of steps.
Emotions were still running high at that point for Bautista, as in the seventh, he took Jason Garcia deep three pitches after an 0-1 heater sailed behind him, and his slow walk around the bases infuriated the Orioles.
During the changeover between innings, Bautista and Adam Jones traded words, and umpires had to intervene.
“It didn’t feel too bad when I did it,” Bautista said of his shoulder, “but as I sat in the dugout and went back out for defence, yeah, it did start getting a little sore. That’s when I first said, ‘That wasn’t the smartest thing to do.’
“Again, I can’t take it back, and it’s one of those emotional plays. That’s the way I play the game. Trying to get an out. Maybe in the situation I should have tried to weigh better the pros and cons, knowing that my arm was already hurting.”
Any extended absence would be a painful one for the Blue Jays, especially with Michael Saunders still on a rehab assignment and not expected back before Friday at Tampa. Manager John Gibbons put Kevin Pillar in right field Wednesday and used super-utility man Ryan Goins in left field.
Steve Tolleson and, in a pinch Danny Valencia, can also play in the outfield, with Caleb Gindl likely the first recall if the Blue Jays choose to go that route.
The injury outlines the risk/reward in the emotional fashion in which Bautista plays.
“It’s the situation. It’s the moment,” he said. “That’s what makes us good athletes and good ballplayers, is responding to the circumstances you have in front of you and just playing with instinct. That’s what my instinct told me to do. If I’m always consciously telling myself, ‘Should I do this or not do this?’ how many balls would I drop and not catch, how many people would I not throw out, how many balls would I not swing at. I don’t play like that and I don’t think I ever will.”
Regardless, the issues in his shoulder had lingered for more than a week, and the pain was so acute he considered taking a DH day over the weekend against Atlanta. Though Monday’s off-day helped, that likely wasn’t enough time to resolve the issue.
Making things worse wasn’t difficult under such circumstances.
“If he doesn’t show much progress the next couple of days, [a trip to the DL] is always a possibility,” said Gibbons. “As of today, it’s not just a sore shoulder, today he couldn’t throw a baseball.”
Another possibility is that Bautista returns as soon as he can hit, waiting things out before heading back to the outfield.
“I hate to say it because I think it’s kind of weird when hockey does it, but it is day-to-day,” he said. “I have to see how it feels tomorrow, I can’t jump ahead and say I’ll be ready to hit in two days. … My shoulder is sore right now, that’s all I can say.”
