One player goes out with an injury, another comes back.
And now Toronto Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi is suggesting that A.J. Burnett, the team's oft-injured $55-million (U.S.) pitching investment, might be more suited as the team's "fourth or fifth" starter.
At the moment, Burnett is considered the No. 2 man in the Toronto rotation behind ace Roy Halladay.
Ricciardi said yesterday that Burnett's status in the pitching pecking order could change if the 30-year-old, who is on the injured list for the second time this season and the 10th time in the past nine years, continues to experience health problems.
"We're concerned in the sense that we need him," Ricciardi said in an interview yesterday on The Fan 590 sports radio station in Toronto, when asked about Burnett's inability to avoid injury. "And as far as going out and taking the ball, when he takes the ball he's good. We've got no complaints. Every time he's been on the mound and every time he's pitched his numbers are good. You've seen him. It's a quality arm. It's just finding a way to keep him out there.
"I don't know if it's psychological, I don't know if it's just he gets to a point he feels something and he's been so scarred by being hurt so many times that he just backs off. But I think he's going to have to get over that hump at some point and just maybe pitch through some pain or realize what the difference is between really being hurt and not being hurt."
The one upside, Ricciardi said, is the maturation of young pitchers Dustin McGowan and Shaun Marcum. With their improvement Ricciardi said the team might not have to rely so heavily on Burnett to continue to be the team's No.ƒ|2 starter. Burnett, who has a sore shoulder, is not expected back until the end of the month.
"We can start sliding him down to the third or fourth spot and then you know we're starting to build our rotation a little better," the GM said.
The Blue Jays returned home yesterday from a difficult 10-game road trip and will face the tough Cleveland Indians tonight in the first of a three-game set at Rogers Centre.
The Jays will play the series without third baseman Troy Glaus, who reinjured his troublesome left foot during Wednesday's game in Oakland against the Athletics.
While the Jays will miss Glaus's power they are heartened by the news that Reed Johnson, their leadoff hitter and starting left fielder, is expected to be in tonight's lineup after a long layoff following back surgery.
Ricciardi said that the Jays will probably add Johnson to the roster after last night's final Triple-A tune-up game with the Syracuse Chiefs.
Johnson had played in Toronto's first seven games of the season before undergoing back surgery to repair herniated discs.
As for Glaus, the American League team was somewhat relieved that X-rays taken in Toronto on his left foot yesterday did not detect any broken bones.
Glaus, who is fifth on the team with 11 home runs, was injured when he fouled a ball off his foot Wednesday against the Athletics. Toronto posted a 10-3 victory, which allowed the team to conclude the 10-game journey with a 4-6 record.
"The X-rays are really inconclusive and right now the doctors feel like rest it up a little bit and see how he is after the all-star break," Ricciardi said in a telephone interview. "Pretty much he can play up to pain tolerance and they think he's going to be okay. So it doesn't appear to be anything that's going to be long term right now."
The Jays are unlikely to play Glaus this weekend. With the major leagues heading into the all-star break on Monday, Glaus would have a week off before the Jays return to action on July 12 in Boston. That game will be the first in what in all likelihood will be a season-defining eight-game trip for the Jays.
Toronto first baseman Lyle Overbay, who left yesterday on a rehabilitation assignment with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the team's Double-A affiliate, is also expected to rejoin the Jays in Boston.
Overbay has been out of the lineup since June 4 when he fractured his right hand when hit by a pitch.
If the scenario plays out as the Jays hope, the Boston series will mark the healthiest the team has been since the first week of the season.
The key missing ingredients would be closer B.J. Ryan, who is out for the year, Burnett and pitcher Gustavo Chacin, who has a sore shoulder.
