BALTIMORE, MD. — When Jose Bautista crashed into the right field wall at Citizen’s Bank Park Thursday night, hyperextending the big toe on his left foot in the process, he knew right away that he was headed for the disabled list.
“I wanted to wait and make sure that the images we got confirmed what I was feeling. But I knew that at least it would be more than two weeks,” Bautista said Friday, standing outside the visitors clubhouse at Camden Yards in Baltimore, his left foot contained in a large, black walking boot. “And we know that for a fact now.”
Bautista will miss at least 15 games, and potentially more, with what the Blue Jays are calling a toe sprain. He underwent X-rays on Thursday, which came back negative. Then he underwent an MRI on Friday, which is being sent to various specialists to be analyzed. This weekend, he’ll undergo further specialized tests such as stress X-rays—a common procedure for joint injuries—and potentially a CT scan.
Once Blue Jays trainers have the results of those tests, and once they speak to the specialists they’ve sent results to, they’ll feel more comfortable estimating the amount of time Bautista will miss.
“The doctors are pretty confident there’s no fracture in there right now,” said Blue Jays head trainer George Poulis. “But once you start digging deeper and getting these specialized tests, there may be something.”
For now, Bautista will rest his foot and await further word from his medical advisors. The toe is swollen and sore, but the Blue Jays right-fielder didn’t feel comfortable describing any further symptoms he’s been experiencing.
“I think that’s just going to open up a can of worms that I don’t think anybody needs to get into. When you sprain anything it doesn’t feel good. So, it doesn’t feel good,” Bautista said. “There’s not much I can do other than rest it. You can ice it. But until the specialist really tells you what the plan is moving forward, sometimes it could end up being counter effective to do anything. We’re just waiting until we talk to him.”
The injury occurred as Bautista pursued a fly ball off the bat of Cameron Rupp in the seventh inning of the Blue Jays’ 13-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday night. Bautista tracked the ball to the warning track, where he leaped and extended his left arm up in an attempt to make a catch, missing the ball and crashing face-first into the outfield fence as he landed.
Bautista got his arms up to take the brunt of the collision, but his left foot jammed into the base of the wall, which left Bautista in visible discomfort as he limped away. He came out of the game immediately, and avoided putting weight on his left foot as he made his way down the dugout stairs.
There’s never a good time for an injury, but this is a particularly unfortunate juncture for Bautista to suffer one, as he’s in a contract year. The 35-year-old is batting .230/.360/.455 in 65 games this season, with 12 home runs and an AL-best 48 walks.
“It’s frustrating. I put in a lot of hard work and dedication and effort to being healthy. But this sort of stuff happens. It can only happen by playing and playing aggressively. And that’s the type of player I am. It’s unfortunate. But I’m just going to have to deal with it and come back as soon as possible,” Bautista said. “Injuries are always a part of the game. We’re all at risk. I could have stepped one inch shorter of the wall, or one inch closer to the wall, and none of this would have happened. There’s a little bit of bad luck attached to it as well.”
Expect to see Ezequiel Carrera get the majority of playing time in right field and at the top of the Blue Jays batting order going forward. He rolled his right ankle during his final at-bat in a game against the Phillies on Wednesday, but was feeling well enough to return to the lineup on Friday. He’s carrying a .330/.398/.443 slash line in 99 plate appearances this season.
“Yeah, he’ll get a lot of playing time,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. “He’s on a nice little roll and he’s done well in the leadoff spot. So, we’ll ride it.”
Meanwhile, two other Blue Jays are taking significant steps towards returning from injuries of their own.
Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, who’s been out since May 27 with a right quadriceps injury, played in a rehab game for the Dunedin Blue Jays Thursday night, going 1-for-4 with a single and a pair of strike outs. The Florida State League is currently on its all-star break, so Tulowitzki spent Friday working out at the Blue Jays’ facilities in Dunedin as the team determined a next step.
Gibbons hinted that the 31-year-old could return to the big league club by the end of the weekend, saying coyly, “you might see him in the next couple days.”
Left-handed reliever Brett Cecil is also in Dunedin, rehabbing a latissimus dorsi tear. He’ll test his health in a simulated game on Saturday against a handful of players who are in Dunedin working out, including some of the Blue Jays’ 2016 draft picks.
Speaking of those draft picks, the Blue Jays announced Friday they had signed 24 of their 41 selections in the 2016 draft, including their first three picks: right-hander TJ Zeuch, centre-fielder JB Woodman, and shortstop Bo Bichette.
