Blue Jays Spring Training: Maicer Izturis Out For Ten Days

As was suspected, an MRI confirmed that Maicer Izturis has strained groin, which he suffered earlier in Blue Jays Spring Training. The strain is not a severe one but he he’ll rest for 10 days. At that time they’ll reassess and consider his options from there. John Gibbons was quoted as saying: “It came back, strain in there, no activity for 10 days and then kind of just see where he’s at…It’s hard to say, it might take more than 10 days to begin with. We don’t know yet … but I don’t see how he’s going to be ready for Opening Day.”

Strains are a finicky injury and can stick around longer than anticipated. With Izturis’ injury history it doesn’t seem probable like fate will grant him a speedy recovery. After all, it was a set of stairs that held him out almost all of last year.

At any rate, even with the most optimistic outlook, he won’t be ready for opening day. If you factor in the 10 days of resting the groin and then getting back into baseball activities and then minor league games to tune up—there’s just not enough time to ensure that he’ll be fully healthy and able to produce. Izturis hadn’t had a good start to spring training with only 2 hits in 16 ABs. But he was the top candidate for the starting second baseman job and even if Devon Travis beat him for the job, he would have been the back up middle infielder. 

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A sunny outlook on the situation would be that the Blue Jays have plenty of mediocre options at second and this is not a crushing blow by any means. The injury to Izturis and the fact that he won’t be ready for opening day narrows the competition to Devon Travis, Ryan Goins and potentially a platoon situation with Steve Tolleson and Goins. Tolleson is out of options and Travis could be victimized by that fact to start the season. Gibbons has said that if Travis makes the team, it will be as an everyday player.

Keeping Tolleson makes more sense with keeping Goins as the two have fairly large opposite splits. Tolleson/Goins would be the optimal defensive arrangement but Travis with Goins as backup may be the optimal overall situation. This must be a disappointing set back for Izturis who needs to have a solid showing this year in order to warrant another big league deal next season. He’s in the last year of a 3 year/9 million dollar deal. Izturis’ tenure with the Blue Jays has never really gotten into gear—it’s been a near complete waste of cash for the Jays and by no real fault of Izturis.

Adding Izturis and Estrada’s ankle “tweak” to the laundry list of injuries suffered by Blue Jays already this spring once again calls into question the conditioning and training practices of the club. There needs to be a scapegoat right? It’s either that or a hex—time to call an exorcist?

With the injury bug spreading like the bloody flux, every Blue Jay will be running the field very gingerly for the next while. It’s almost more of an epidemic at this stage.

Next: Blue Jays Spring Training Roster Battles