Blue Jays’ Josh Donaldson still dealing with dead arm

Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson is still dealing with nagging arm issues that have plagued him since spring training.

Josh Donaldson sat out last nights contest in the series finale versus the Baltimore Orioles and later confirmed to Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun that his arm has not improved where the slugger feels great about it.

Something appeared amiss in the 9th inning when the Jays brought the tying run to the plate and manager John Gibbons opted for the slumping Devon Travis in favour of the former MVP with the game on the line.

Donaldson reiterated after the contest that the plan from the get-go was for him to receive the complete game off which makes sense seeing the Jays have an off-day tomorrow.

In 2014, Fox Sports summed up “dead arm” as the following:

"Dead arm is not an actual injury. There is no structural damage, there is no tear, no inflammation. It can be best described as fatigue and a pitcher sometimes feels like he is pitching with a wet noodle. Your arm feels heavy and often when you go reach back for something extra there is nothing there."

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Donaldson’s arm seemed to be problematic the previous evening when the third baseman sidearmed a lackluster throw across the diamond to barely get the speedy Adam Jones on a bang-bang play.

The dead arm was grossly apparent during the Blue Jays first series versus the Yankees when J.D. could barely field his position. The Jays had previously reported improvement with the dead arm issues however that appears to have been short-lived.

Look for the Jays to utilize Donaldson in the designated hitter spot moving forward especially with Kendrys Morales on the disabled list with a hamstring issue. In all likelihood, Yangervis Solarte will slot into the hot corner defensively when the Jays open up a three-game series with the Cleveland Indians on Friday.

Next: Blue Jays late inning heroics paying dividends in win column

Wet noodle or not, the Blue Jays need Donaldson’s lumber catapulting their offence if they are going to continue their winning ways moving forward.