Blue Jays Morning Brew: Happ, Donaldson, Roster Moves and more

Your Toronto Blue Jays news and notes for Wednesday, April 19th, 2017

Update on J.A. Happ’s elbow

The update on J.A. Happ was nowhere near as bad as initially feared for Blue Jays fans. While he’s been placed on the 10 day DL, he may miss as little as one start if all goes well for the talented lefty.

Happ finished the 2016 season with a record of 20-4 and a 3.18 ERA over 195 innings pitched, and finished 6th in AL Cy Young voting.

Donaldson likely out 2-4 weeks

There have been some updates on Josh Donaldson since he was placed on the DL, but the reality is only time will tell for the 2015 AL MVP.

Reports came out from several sources that the timeline looks like it’ll fall somewhere between 2-4 weeks, assuming the star third baseman doesn’t experience any set backs. The calf injury has been a lingering issue for Donaldson throughout his time in Toronto, so it’s likely the player and club would like to see the injury fully healed before he returns to the lineup.

The Blue Jays will hope to turn things around in his absence, otherwise he may be forced to try to get back on the field earlier than he should, which didn’t work out very well last time.

More roster moves coming on Wednesday

The Blue Jays brought right-handed reliever Danny Barnes to the big leagues on Tuesday, and he was joined by utility infielder, Ty Kelly.

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With the Blue Jays in need of two starters (likely), there will be more roster moves coming, likely to be announced later on Wednesday. It’s anticipated that the Blue jays could be looking at options such as Mat Latos, Casey Lawrence, Mike Bolsinger, or T.J. House in order to fill in for the injured starters.

Lawrence has already been called up to the big leagues this year, making two appearances out of the bullpen before being sent back to Buffalo. Latos was signed as a minor league free agent this offseason, and willingly accepted an assignment to Buffalo to serve as organizational depth.

Unlikely sources of offence so far

While several of the key Blue Jays have struggled so far, it’s been encouraging to see positive performances from Justin Smoak and Kevin Pillar. Pillar is best known for his defence, but has started the season very well at the plate, hitting 3 doubles on Tuesday night against the Red Sox and torturing Pablo Sandoval in the process.

Smoak had a couple hits of his own, and has surprisingly looked like one of the strongest hitters in the lineup. He’s now 5-10 from the right side (he’s a switch-hitter) and 13-47 on the young season for a .277 average and a pair of home runs.

Next: Blue Jays trade Juan Graterol to the Angels for cash or PTBNL