Jose Bautista diagnosed with turf toe (and what is turf toe?)

Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista is dealing with turf toe, an injury that is far more painful than it sounds

The diagnosis is in, it’s turf toe for Jose Bautista.

The Blue Jays’ outfielder, currently on the 15-day disabled list, is expected to stay in a walking boot for a couple more weeks before he is reassessed by a specialist.

While this diagnosis is not necessarily “better” or “worse” than a sprain elsewhere in the foot, turf toe is notoriously difficult to forecast when it comes to return timetables. This is a more common injury – and a painful one – among NFL players.

Google searches of turf toe, or metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint sprains, have certainly increased in the past 12 hours in Canada. In English, turf toe is a sprain of the primary joint in a big toe that typically comes from the toe being bent too far upwards. That’s what happened to Bautista when his toe hit the wall a few inches up, but his heel stayed in the warning track dirt and planted to cause the exaggerated bending.

The “turf” part comes from days when artificial turf was far less forgiving than it is today, leading to a spike in this exact injury beginning in the 1970s.

Beyond the pain, the main athletic hindrance of turf toe is to an athlete’s push-off and explosive movements. This is why NFL running backs, wide receivers, or members of the defensive secondary struggle so greatly with the injury. While Bautista is by no means a base-stealer or wall-climbing ace in right field, this turf toe would greatly limit his mobility.

The worry here for the Toronto Blue Jays is that this injury can linger. Perhaps Bautista’s ability to DH allows him an earlier return, but the most important day now becomes his reassessment date. After wearing a walking boot and presumably not taking part in strenuous baseball activity for the coming weeks, that may also present a challenge to Bautista as he eventually re-enters the lineup.

So while this is typically a better diagnosis than a broken bone, don’t let the word “toe” trick you into thinking that this is a minor nuisance.