Blue Jays: Rest may be key for the returning sluggers

After Josh Donaldson and Troy Tulowitzki returned to the Blue Jays’ lineup on Friday night, both were given the day off on Saturday as the club hopes to ease them back into regular duty.

The Blue Jays’ lineup on Friday night was as deep as we’ve seen since nearly Opening Day, aided of course by the return of both Josh Donaldson and Troy Tulowitzki from the disabled list. The Blue Jays have been among the most injury-bitten teams in baseball this year, so it was exciting to see the gang back together.

After a double in Donaldson’s first at bat and another win for the Blue Jays, many fans were excited to watch a repeat performance on Saturday. Instead both of the returning sluggers were given Saturday off, leaving the lineup to something closer to what John Gibbons has employed the last month or more.

The good news is their absences were planned, as the club wants to ease them back into the fold, and hopefully manage to avoid re-aggravating their respective injuries. Gibbons told reporters that neither would be in the lineup for that reason, as the Jays want to be to keep two of their better hitters available throughout the year.

The other point to consider is the dynamic of playing a night game (Friday), followed by an early afternoon contest (Saturday). In the case of catchers, it’s getting more and more rare that they’ll catch both games in that scenario. The Jays chose to employ a similar strategy for the left side of their infield, and may continue a similar arrangement, at least in the near future.

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In Donaldson’s case, he has been out since April 13th and when he initially re-aggravated his injury badly enough to keep him out until a couple days ago. Tulo followed him on April 21st, and was also out much longer than initially expected.

Fortunately the Jays have some options in their depth chart, as evidenced by another highlight reel play from Ryan Goins during Saturday’s contest. Goins and others like Darwin Barney and Chris Coughlan have helped the Jays turn the season around, and continue to find ways to bring  valuable contributions.

As of the moment, the Jays are just 3 games below .500 at 23-26, a far cry from where they were when Tulo joined Donaldson on the DL back on April 21st. They’re also in the midst of a 5 game win streak, seemingly getting stronger and more confident with each contest. The return of those two in addition to others like Russell Martin and Kendrys Morales, and the strong play of “the fill-ins”, allows the club to be less aggressive this time, which will hopefully keep them both from another DL stint this season.

Next: Jays: Is Liriano a sure thing in the rotation when he returns?

If the Blue Jays are truly going to make a run at contending in 2017 they’re going to need both players to be healthy and performing. If that means the Jays sit them a little more regularly in the short term, I support that decision and truly believe it’s the right call.