Blue Jays’ Josh Donaldson behind the eight-ball as season approaches

Toronto Blue Jays slugger Josh Donaldson is nursing an assortment of ailments and appears behind the proverbial eight-ball as the regular season quickly approaches.

Josh Donaldson is currently sidelined for the next few days with a calf injury after dealing with a sore throwing shoulder earlier in camp. Calf issues have plagued the former MVP for the better part of last season as Donaldson missed 49 contests last season due to the nagging calf issues.

The third baseman was late to get on the field defensively this spring due to the barking shoulder and has only compiled 16 plate appearances over seven games this spring thus far. For the spring he is hitting .273 with three singles and five walks but has yet to go deep.

Donaldson left a game last weekend after drawing a walk in the first inning, the team chalked it up to dehydration and cramping however it may have been the calf issue. If the Jays are going to redeem themselves from a disappointing 2017 campaign they need to be firing on all cylinders from the get-go and Donaldson is a huge part of that.

Manager John Gibbons was non-committal when asked about a possible return for J.D.

“Not sure, Next few days, I would think. We’ll see.”

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With only two weeks remaining in Grapefruit League action, Donaldson needs to get some at-bats under his belt regardless of how much the former MVP downplays its importance. In a perfect world, he will presumably play this weekend in Dunedin if the calf responds to a few days of rest.

The Jays are already without Marcus Stroman who will miss the Opening Day start versus the New York Yankees on March 29th with inflammation in his throwing shoulder. Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki will be out of action until at least April with bone spurs in his heel while Randal Grichuk and Steve Pearce have both been banged up this spring.

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We will continue to monitor the Donaldson developments but the slugger needs some at-bats and in a hurry, if he is going to be healthy and ready for Opening Day.