Blue Jays place Aledmys Diaz on DL, recall Richard Urena

Following an ugly looking ankle sprain this weekend in Tampa Bay, Blue Jays shortstop Aledmys Diaz has been placed on the 10-day disabled list. Young infielder Richard Urena has been called up to take his roster spot ahead of Tuesday night’s game at Rogers Centre.

While not nearly as serious as it perhaps could’ve been, this is certainly not the news that Blue Jays fans were hoping to hear. Aledmys Diaz, who injured his ankle this weekend in Tampa Bay, has been placed on the 10-day disabled list with what has been described as a left ankle sprain. Shortstop Richard Urena has been called up to take his place.

Diaz, 27, was struggling quite a bit at the plate. Despite hitting six home runs, he slashed a pedestrian .216/.273/.431 in 32 games. He has hit four doubles and has struck out 16 times. He has played all of his innings this year at shortstop, putting up a 0.4 dWAR, according to Baseball Reference.

Urena, a switch-hitter, has played a combined nine games in the 2018 season with Buffalo and Dunedin. He brings to the team solid glove and decent speed on the base paths, having stolen 60 bases during the 2017 campaign, which he spent at Double-A New Hampshire. Urena is not in the starting lineup for Tuesday’s series opener against the Seattle Mariners.

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Even though he was having trouble putting the ball in play, Diaz was relatively productive for the Jays, providing some pop at the bottom of the order. He was also showing great range in the field, making few errors and exceeding defensive expectations.

In 21 games in the majors last year, Urena slashed .206/.270/.309 with one home run and a stolen base. Devon Travis, who has struggled thus far in Triple-A, was also considered to be a likely candidate to take Diaz’s place, but probably needs a little more time in the minors before he’s ready to make his return.

While Richard Urena could very well be a serviceable replacement for Diaz, let’s hope that he makes a speedy recovery. He’s served as a fantastic under-the-radar pickup since his acquisition and appeared to be putting it together at the dish.

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