The Blue Jays may be dealing with yet another injury absence, as Rowdy Tellez suffered a mild left hamstring strain that forced him out of today’s 10-8 victory over the Phillies. While batting in the eighth inning, Tellez slipped on home plate after hitting a line drive to left field, as a would-be double was limited to a single since Tellez was moving gingerly down the first base line. Jays manager Charlie Montoyo told Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling and other reporters that “there’s a good chance” Tellez would be placed on the 10-day injured list.
An injury would compound that has already been a very tough start to the season for Tellez. After seemingly breaking out during the 2020 season, Tellez has hit only .188/.225/.282 with two home runs over 89 plate appearances this year. Despite making a lot of hard contact, Tellez has only a .222 BABIP and has only two walks against 20 strikeouts. The Jays already sent Tellez down to the alternate training site in April as a result of his struggles, and it’s possible he would still in the minors if he wasn’t needed to help fill a hole on Toronto’s injury-plagued roster.
With Tellez likely to join George Springer, Joe Panik, and Alejandro Kirk on the IL, the Jays may need to make a 40-man roster adjustment to add another position player (unless they’re willing to play with a very short bench). Such MLB-experienced players such as Tyler White, Dilson Herrera, Breyvic Valera, and Richard Urena are at Triple-A but would need to have their contracts selected to the 40-man before being able to join the big league team.
Injuries were naturally a big topic of discussion when Toronto GM Ross Atkins met with the media prior to today’s game. Speaking to Zwelling, Sportnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith (Twitter links) and other reporters, Atkins gave a positive update on right-hander Thomas Hatch, who has yet to pitch this season due to a right elbow impingement. Hatch is on pace to be activated from the 60-day IL when first eligible, as he is up to three innings of work at a time. Capable of working as a starter, reliever, or in a swingman role, Hatch could be a valuable asset to Toronto’s pitching staff is he is able to return healthy.
Top prospect Nate Pearson would also naturally be a boon to the rotation if he is able to live up to his potential, but Pearson has dealt with a number of setbacks this year — a groin injury that delayed his season debut to May 9, a rough performance in that first outing, and then a demotion to Triple-A. Pearson will now miss his next Triple-A start due to a minor shoulder impingement, but Atkins says the Jays “don’t expect him to miss too much time at all.”
With Pearson a question mark and the Blue Jays rotation still in need of help, all eyes have turned to Alek Manoah, whose first two Triple-A starts have resulted in 12 scoreless innings. Selected 11th overall in the 2019 draft, Manoah was ranked 79th on Keith Law’s preseason top-100 prospects ranking and 83rd on the Baseball Prospectus list, and the right-hander has now slipped into the current top-100 listings of Baseball America (93rd) and MLB Pipeline (98th).
Manoah’s performance has naturally also caught the eye of the Jays front office, as Atkins said “he’s making that [a promotion] very much something that we’re discussing and talking about….The objective and subjective views of how effective he will be at the major league level are all really encouraging. He absolutely maximized his off-season and maximized Spring Training, and he’s getting absolutely every ounce out of Triple-A baseball right now.”
When Manoah might make his debut is still up in the air. The 23-year-old did lose a season of proper minor league development in 2020, his time at the alternate training site last season was shortened due to a bout of COVID-19, and Manoah’s two Triple-A appearances are his only games played above the low-A ball level. As Zwelling noted, however, the fact that the Blue Jays began Manoah’s season at Triple-A rather than Double-A is likely a sign that the team has confidence that Manoah is ready for a somewhat aggressive promotion if he keeps impressing in the upper minors.
The Blue Jays are looking like a for sure playoff team this season.
Manoah can fill any type of role. He’s a big boy too.
What the hell is with the hamstrings this year?
Well rowdy slipped on home plate. But also he’s not in good shape so that might also factor in. I wouldn’t compare his injury with other hamstring ones.
they will bring up josh palacios. He is already on 40 man. He looked good earlier in season.. He can play outfield/ dh.
I’m pretty sure Palcios is on the minor league IL.
Yup correct, going to be out for a while
Then I’d go with Forrest Wall. Who knows if he can hit, but at least there’s a chance, unlike the Valeras and Urenas of the world who are established bad hitters. And Wall has speed which can be useful. And Biggio, Espinal and Gurriel (in a pinch) can all back up Guerrero at first base.
Palacios is injured. If we’re focused on current 40-man players they could either temporarily go with an arm like Tice or Zeuch (unlikely) or dip into AA for Otto Lopez who’s swinging the bat well and playing all over the place (also unlikely). Riley Adams can’t touch AAA pitching but a callup could promote Gabriel Moreno to AAA.
This Blue Jays/Phillies series felt cursed. Injuries galore. Misplays all over the place. Just ugly baseball. Some sweet bombs by the Jays though.
It was really poor baseball, wonder how much the field/ conditions had to do with it. Especially in the outfield every ball seemed like an adventure
Phillies maybe shouldn’t have had 2 infielders in right and left
They literally had no one left.
Add Forrest Wall or Logan Warmoth. Both have played well so far in AAA, Warmoth can play multiple positions.
You could probably build a competitive 26-man roster just from the injury lists of the Phillies and Jays put together.
I am looking for are to both Hatch and Manoah in the BlueJays rotation. That would upgrade the Jays significantly even though they are raw rookies.
I wouldn’t want to see Alek Manoah until September callups, at the absolute earliest. I don’t want to rush him. Let him get a season of AAA ball and see what he can do with that.
We all saw what is happening with Nate Pearson throughout his MLB starts. He hasn’t been nearly as good as all the hype surrounding him is telling us he should be. Sure, his velocity has been good but his control is all over the place. I don’t want to see the same thing happen to Alek Manoah. I want him to get to the Majors and stick there.
Remember there aren’t really September callups anymore, the roster only goes to 28.
I’d call up Manoah in another 2-4 starts if he keeps dominating. I don’t buy that Nate Pearson’s troubles have much to do with when he was called up, but Manoah already has as much AAA experience as Pearson had.
I’m in between the 3 of you, give him 10-12 AAA starts see if he hits any bumps in the road and how he might deal with it. Mid-Late June or early July.
I could go along with this, depending on those 10-12 starts and how he deals with any bumps. 🙂
I don’t think the Jays have any choice but to give Manoah a shot. Pearson, who clearly hasn’t recovered from last season’s ailments, needs time to fully heal. And George Springer arrived with the same injury that hampered him in Houston last season. Given we haven’t really missed him, it’s best to allow him all the time he needs to be the best GS he can be. Since the Jays are not yet built for serious contention, I think it’s worth plugging the holes with promising youngsters. Most won’t be ready for sustained big league duties, but among them, there’s almost always a pleasant surprise.
Fenway’s going to be open for the Sox on May 29.. Meanwhile in Canada, the government won’t let them go to a baseball game at all. They can’t even go outside to play golf or tennis. LOL!!! A socialist paradise.