Blue Jays Activate Lawrie, Option Kawasaki
May 6, 2013; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Brett Lawrie (13) at bat against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 8-7. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Third Baseman Brett Lawrie has been activated from the 15-Day Disabled List and will join the Toronto Blue Jays for Saturday’s game against the Baltimore Orioles, as first reported by Mike Wilner via Twitter.
Lawrie has been on the disabled list since severly spraining his ankle on an awkward slide while stealing 2nd base against the Atlanta Braves on May 27th. It was Lawrie’s second stint on the DL this season, as he started the year on the disabled list after injuring his rib cage during the World Baseball Classic.
Overall, the third baseman is batting just .209 on the season with 5 home runs, 14 RBI, and a piddly .642 OPS in 153 plate appearances. In hist 10-game rehab assignment, Lawrie had compiled a .250 batting average with a single home run while seeing action at just about every stop in the Blue Jays system.
In the corresponding roster move, shortstop/second baseman Munenori Kawasaki was optioned back to Triple-A Buffalo. The 32-year-old has hit just .213 with the Blue Jays in 216 plate appearances, but had also posted a .319 on-base percentage. He’ll return to the Bisons where he will continue to serve as infield depth.
Other Blue Jays Injury News:
– Outfielder Melky Cabrera appeared in his first rehab game for the Dunedin Blue Jays, going 1 for 4 with a pair of strike-outs in the process.
– Also on Saturday, the Blue Jays announced that left-hander J.A. Happ has been assigned to the GCL Blue Jays to begin his rehab assignment. Happ is recovering after being hit in the head by a line drive against Tampa Bay on May 7th. Happ has seemingly put the head injury behind him, but has struggled with a knee injury that resulted when he went down from the hit. He’ll likely need the maximum 30 days to get himself back into game shape.