Blue Jays send Steve Tolleson to the DL, recall Munenori Kawasaki

The Toronto Blue Jays continue to juggle middle infielders, with Steve Tolleson heading to the disabled list with an apparent groin injury. With Devon Travis‘ rehab being shut down, that means the Blue Jays had to look for an alternative option as a back-up infielder.

Welcome back Munenori Kawasaki.

According to John Lott of the National Post, the Blue Jays have recalled Munenori Kawasaki from Triple-A Buffalo. A subsequent tweet from Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star has confirmed that the corresponding move will indeed be Tolleson heading to the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to May 27th, with a groin strain.

Tolleson has proven to be a solid back-up infielder for the Blue Jays again in 2015, slashing .268/.333/.439 in 45 plate appearances, but as per usual, those came with his typical wide splits against left and right-handed pitching. Tolleson has torched left-handers this season, hitting .318/.400/.545 with three doubles, a triple, and all three RBI’s against opposite-handed pitching. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said when facing right-handers, who Tolleson has mustered a .211/.250/.316 slash-line and struck out in six of his 20 plate appearances.

He’ll be replaced on the active roster by Munenori Kawasaki, who is back with the Blue Jays for a second time this season. The Japanese favorite appeared in just three games between May 22nd and May 24th, providing a small cushion for the team between when Travis hit the disabled list and Jose Reyes was activated from it. In those three games, he collected just one hit in six plate appearances. Back in Buffalo, Kawasaki was hitting .221/.330/.279, underwhelming by most standards.

Unfortunately, the Blue Jays have to take what they can get. With Tolleson heading to the disabled list and both Devon Travis and Maicer Izturis suffering setbacks in their respective rehab assignments, the infield corps for the Blue Jays was getting mighty thin. That means Ryan Goins will continue to draw most of the starts, with Kawasaki available to spell people around the infield as needed.

Next: Devon Travis shutdown while on rehab assignment

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