Toronto Blue Jays Lose Maicer Izturis To DL For 4-6 Months

Mar 25, 2014; Bradenton, FL, USA; Toronto Blue Jays infielder Maicer Izturis (3) throws to first base in the second inning of the spring training exhibition game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at McKechnie Field. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports

As far as news goes, what Maicer Izturis received on Monday was as bad as it could get. The Toronto Blue Jays infielder learned that he could be out of the game for the remainder of the season with a complete tear of his lateral collateral ligament, a team release announced Monday afternoon.

Also according to the release, Izturis is expected to seek out a second opinion, but the thought process is that he will undergo surgery soon, which could result in a 4-6 week recovery process.

The injury occurred on Sunday afternoon, when Izturis felt the knee pop while coming off the field during warm-ups. He tripped on the stairs while entering the dugout and was immediately removed from the line-up.

That’s a big blow to the Blue Jays, as Izturis had been playing some much better baseball in the early going in 2014. In 38 plate appearances, Izturis was slashing a solid .286/.324/.314 and has shown decent improvement in the field as well.

With the injury to Izturis, the futures of Jonathan Diaz, Ryan Goins, and Munenori Kawasaki in Toronto are suddenly a lot more interesting. One or two of them were expected to be at risk once Jose Reyes returned from the disabled list later this month, but now will likely see at least two of them remain after the shortstop returns. Given the offensive struggles of Goins, it will be interesting to see how the Blue Jays play that out.

The alternative is the team makes another move, involving their excess pitching depth (J.A. Happ, Esmil Rogers, Neil Wagner), to find a second baseman. What they can get for that depth remains to be seen, but teams like the Diamondbacks have infield depth and a need on the mound that could result in a move.