Blue Jays Injury Updates: Josh Donaldson, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and more

Blue Jays injury updates from the afternoon of July 12th, 2018, including an update on the status of the changeup master and the potentially imminent return of a dominant reliever.

Estrada Likely to Sit for a While

According to Steve Buffery of the Toronto Sun, starting pitcher Marco Estrada won’t return to the mound until after the All-Star break. Estrada, who has not yet officially been placed on the DL, injured his hip in a start about a week ago.

Other sources have said that Estrada will still try and avoid a stint on the disabled list, but he will not appear again until after the break. For the season, he’s 4-7 with a 4.72 ERA in 89.2 frames. With 70 strikeouts and 25 walks this year, he’s been good enough for 0.9 WAR, sixth on the team.

Jaime Garcia to Begin Throwing

Lefty Jaime Garcia will throw one inning in Dunedin Thursday, reports Mike Wilner of Sportsnet’s the Fan 590. The struggling starter went on the disabled list on June 23rd with what was described as “left shoulder inflammation”.

In 13 starts for the Jays this year, he’s pitched to an alarming 6.16 ERA, striking out 56 and walking 31. With an awful WHIP of 1.614, he’s 2-6 on the season.

Tepera Almost Ready

Ryan Tepera is with the team and will be activated after the All-Star break, tweets Aaron Rose of MLB.com. Tepera was seen on the bench joking around with his teammates during the Atlanta series and threw a bullpen session prior to the opener at SunTrust Park.

Occasionally the subject of some minor trade rumours, Tepera has put up excellent numbers so far this year, pitching to a 2.97 ERA in 38 games, racking up six saves and 0.9 WAR.

Vladdy Ready for GCL Rehab

Despite the previous report that he is set to return to Buffalo upon his return, Keegan Matheson of Baseball Toronto now reports that it’s not “a definite” that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will go to Buffalo immediately.

Matheson does note that Guerrero is set to head to the Gulf Coast League for a rehab assignment later this week. For the season, Vladdy Jr. is slashing an insane .407/.457/.667 with 11 home runs and 18 doubles.

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Donaldson Hits the Ground Running

Mike Wilner also reported (in the same tweet) that injured third baseman Josh Donaldson will begin running and field work this week. The 2015 MVP has been on the shelf with left calf tightness and it is currently unknown just when he will return to the Blue Jays.

In a rather unfortunate sequence of events, Donaldson has missed most of this year with variations of the same injury. This inability to stay healthy, along with his inconsistencies at the plate, has badly hurt his trade value, with many evaluators no longer considering him as a prized deadline trade chip.

Barnes to be Re-Evaluated After Bullpen

Not much as been known about Danny Barnes’ injury, but now we have at least some information on when he could return. In the final note of the afternoon, Wilner reports that Barnes will pitch his second bullpen session sometime in the next 24 hours and will be evaluated soon after. He was placed on the disabled list with a knee injury.

Once an integral part of the Blue Jays relief squad, Barnes fell off, pitching to a 5.40 ERA in June, walking seven while striking out just nine in 10.0 innings of work.

Next: Chicago Cubs reportedly interested in Curtis Granderson