After injuring his toe during Thursday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Jose Bautista will be spending at least the next 15 days on the disabled list. Replacing him on the roster will be Darrell Ceciliani, while Ezequiel Carrera will be taking his place in the starting lineup.
Blue Jays have yet to announce anything officially but it's a toe injury for Bautista; the big one on his left foot. X-rays were negative.
— Arden Zwelling (@ArdenZwelling) June 17, 2016
Bautista, 35, has not been producing to the same levels in 2016 that Blue Jays fans have been used to, although he is still having a fine season. In 65 games played, Bautista has hit 12 home runs and hit .230/.360/.455.
Strangely, the man getting the call up is Darrell Ceciliani, and not Dalton Pompey. Ceciliani, 25, was a former top prospect with the New York Mets but did not have success in his cup of coffee in the big leagues in 2015. He hit .206/.270/279 in 75 plate appearances. In 2016 for the Buffalo Bisons, Ceciliani has hit .225/.279/.292. The thinking behind the move is likely that Ezequiel Carerra has been hot in 2016, and thus he “deserves” the starting spot in place of Bautista. Carrera has hit .330/.398/.443 in 99 plate appearances this season.
Of course, if the Blue Jays truly believe in Pompey, then no sample of less than 100 plate appearances should stop them from giving him a starting opportunity in the big leagues. Ezequiel Carerra’s previous 650 major league plate appearances likely represents his talent level, whereas there is still a lot to be determined about Daltom Pompey’s future.
Aside from the replacement potentially hurting the Blue Jays, this injury will definitely sting. The Blue Jays lineup has just been coming along, and losing a bat as big as Bautista’s will cause a loss in production. However, the good news is that some reinforcements could be on the way.
Some good news on the #BlueJays injury front. John Gibbons says we may see Tulo here this weekend. Cecil will throw sim game on weekend
— Barry Davis (@SNBarryDavis) June 17, 2016
Bautista will go for more tests soon, specifically “a ‘stress X-ray’ possibly a CT scan and other tests to determine exact cause” according to Gregor Chisholm.
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