Advertisement 1

Jose Bautista's rehab starts Wednesday in Dunedin

Article content

PHOENIX

Jose Bautista will start a rehab assignment with the class-A Dunedin Blue Jays Wednesday evening, and could be back with the big-league club as early as next Monday.

Bautista will play three to five innings in the field Wednesday, then will join the triple-A Buffalo Bisons for three games this weekend.

If everything goes well in those games, Bautista is expected to rejoin the Blue Jays next Monday in Toronto for the start of a three-game set against the San Diego Padres.

Head trainer George Poulis said it will be a day-to-day process between now and when Bautista comes back.

"We'll see how he's going each day," said Poulis. "We really don't want to set a date, 'You're coming back on this day.' "¦ If a guy feels like he needs an extra day then we'll just give it to him. But he's doing great, we're very optimistic that he's very close."

OUT OF SYNC

Blue Jays manager John Gibbons is looking forward to getting his full team back together and to start putting together a steady string of crisp, professional games.

"We've been scrambling to figure everything out," he said. "You had the all-star break, four days off, play the weekend, day off, play two, another off day. It's thrown us a little out of whack. We didn't play very well in Oakland, coughed up some leads. We want to get rolling again.

"We should be set to ride it on out. I'm hoping everything starts to feel like it's supposed to over the next few days."

DECISION AWAITS

Lefty reliever Franklin Morales' rehab assignment reaches its deadline today but the Jays are still deciding what to do with him. "We can't option him," Gibbons said. "We either have to bring him up here or release him. That's being discussed right now."

SORE ACHILLES

Ezequiel Carrera, who tweaked an Achilles tendon in Oakland, was feeling better Tuesday but still unable to play. "He feels better," Gibbons said. "Hopefully if we get through (Tuesday) maybe he's all right on Wednesday. We have another off day on Thursday."

WHO ELSE BUT PILLAR?

Kevin Pillar has been named the Blue Jays' 'Heart and Hustle Award' winner for 2016.

The Heart and Hustle Award is administered by the MLB Players Alumni Association. Every year, a player from each of the 30 teams is nominated for the award. The final winner this year will be announced on Nov. 15 at the 17th annual Legends For Youth Dinner in New York City.

As the season draws to a close, fans, all alumni and active players will vote to select the final winner from the 30 team winners.

Pillar, a 32nd-round selection in the 2011 draft, exceeded expectations at every minor-league level on his rapid trip through the Jays system, playing with a fire and intensity, both in the field and at the plate. He became the Jays' everyday centre fielder in 2015 and his extraordinary plays in the field have become nightly highlight reel fodder.

DRABEK AN INFIELDER?

Former Blue Jay Kyle Drabek, who was released by Arizona on June 28, has been signed by the San Francisco Giants but not necessarily as a pitcher. The Giants plan first to try the 28-year-old former two-way high school star at shortstop.

Drabek was a highly-rated pitching prospect in the Philadelphia Phillies chain when he was dealt to Toronto as the centrepiece in the Roy Halladay deal in December of 2009 but he never reached his potential. He was waived by Toronto in March of 2015 and signed by the Chicago White Sox. Arizona signed him as a free agent last fall.

Article content
Advertisement 2
Advertisement
Article content
Article content
Latest National Stories
    This Week in Flyers