TORONTO — Canadian Press Published on Monday, Jul. 28, 2008 1:50PM EDT Last updated on Tuesday, Mar. 31, 2009 8:25PM EDT
The Toronto Blue Jays called up Scott Richmond from triple-A Syracuse on Monday, a move that will likely keep the right-hander from playing on the Canadian Olympic team.
The 28-year-old from North Vancouver, B.C., is expected to start Wednesday in place of John Parrish against Tampa Bay and he'll have to be optioned back to the minors immediately after to still play in the Summer Games, as any player on a big-league roster Aug. 1 is ineligible for Beijing.
That probably won't happen, as a source said the Blue Jays aren't bringing Richmond up to make a single start, but rather to assess what they have in him over a longer stretch.
Baseball Canada intends to wait out the process before naming a replacement for Richmond and his looming loss will be a blow. He was projected to be a starter for manager Terry Puhl's club and the whole staff may now need to be realigned.
Richmond becomes the 14th Canadian to suit up for the Blue Jays and to make room for him they placed lefty reliever Brian Tallet on the 15-day disabled list with a non-displaced spiral fracture of his small right toe and transferred Aaron Hill to the 60-day DL, essentially ending the second baseman's season.
Hill has been fighting post-concussion syndrome since a collision with teammate David Eckstein on May 28 and is just about of time to make a comeback this year. He's still unable to participate in full baseball activities, although he's free to work out on a stationary bike, an elliptical, throw lightly and hit off a tee.
It's been two weeks since his last dizzy spell and his headaches are rarer, but he'll have to shed the 10 pounds he's gained during his period of recovery and will pretty much be starting from scratch once he has full clearance.
Tallet, 30, has appeared in 37 games this season, posting a 0-1 record with a 3.03 ERA.
Richmond, meanwhile, began the season with double-A New Hampshire and in 19 starts was 5-8 with a 4.92 ERA. Promoted to Syracuse, he's 0-2 with a 2.53 ERA in five starts, walking only six and striking out 31 in 35 innings.
He was signed last winter as a non-drafted free agent after spending three seasons with Edmonton of the independent Northern League.
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