Blue Jays Quick Hits: Steve Pearce, Randal Grichuk and More

Blue Jays news and updates from May 10th-11th featuring injury updates on Steve Pearce and Randal Grichuk, and an update on incoming infielder Gio Urshela.

Grichuk Back to Baseball

According to Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith, outfielder Randal Grichuk has resumed baseball activities and has been swinging off a tee. Grichuk was placed on the disabled list on April 30th with what was described as a “right knee strain”.

In 25 games so far this year, Grichuk has slashed an ugly .106/.208/.227 with two home runs and 24 strikeouts. He has walked only seven times and has two doubles. At this point, he is expected to miss two to three more weeks.

Pearce Built Like a Civic?

Just a few hours before Nicholson-Smith’s update on Grichuk, Randal himself tweeted jokingly that Steve Pearce proclaimed “my body’s like a civic but needs the maintenance of Lamborghini”. While Grichuk’s tweet is humorous and light-hearted, it helped in the way of providing an update on Pearce’s oblique injury.

According to CBS Sports, Pearce is likely two weeks away from returning to the Blue Jays, as of May 11th. He has yet to resume baseball activity.

Tulo Working Out In Dunedin

According to Blue Jays play-by-play man Ben Wagner, Troy Tulowitzki has begun rehabbing at the Dunedin complex in Florida. TSN reported on April 25th that Tulo was hopefully slated to begin rehabbing with the D-Jays in the first week of June. So far, he has not appeared in any minor league rehab games.

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Urshela Still Working on Visa

Recently acquired infielder Gio Urshela still hasn’t joined the Blue Jays, but he is waiting to get his work visa sorted out, according to Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi. Urshela is a native of Cartagena, Colombia who has been in the Cleveland Indians organization since 2009.

Urshela, 26, is an elite defender, having appeared primarily at third base throughout his career. Urshela’s acquisition, while minor in nature, could mean that shortstop Aledmys Diaz could miss more time than anticipated. On the other hand, he could simply be a stopgap that’ll serve as a more serviceable replacement for Diaz, instead of Richard Urena or Gift Ngoepe.

Next: Blue Jays: Marcus Stroman heads to the DL