The Toronto Blue Jays made a last-minute change to the starting lineup with Brandon Belt being removed with lower back tightness.
Belt returned to the lineup for the series opener against the Colorado Rockies after missing two games with back spasms.
Belt has been one of Toronto's better hitters. He has an OPS of .854 to go along with 16 homers and 38 RBIs.
The 13-year MLB veteran, who signed with the Blue Jays in the off-season on a one-year, $9.3-million contract, said that he is contemplating retirement at the end of the 2023 season.
"I think I might have a few more options next year, but I am getting on up there in age, so it might turn a lot of people off, but I'm still trying to figure out kinda what I want to do," Belt said. "I'm 35 this year. I got two boys that are getting older, and it's getting tougher on all of us when I'm gone all the time.
"This something I gotta take into consideration and figure out whether I want to keep going or go home and be with my family."
Bo Bichette was also doing some testing of his right quad injury telling Sportsnet's Hazel Mae that he was was able to run "at almost 100 percent." The next step for Bichette will be running the bases and trying to ramp back up to 100 per cent.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider said recently that he is hopeful that the 25-year-old will be able to return to the roster within the minimum 10 days.
Bichette was placed on the 10-day IL retroactive to Aug. 28 with a right quad strain.
Bichette leads the Blue Jays with a .314 batting average and 152 hits. He's also second on the club with 18 home runs and 62 RBIs.
Mae also reported that the swelling on Matt Chapman's right, middle finger has gone down considerably but is still finding it difficult to make a fist. Chapman has yet to hit or throw since suffering the injury to his middle finger which forced the team to place him on the 10-game injured list on Aug. 28.
Chapman told Mae that he hopes he can start swinging and throwing in Oakland which is the team's next road series.
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.