Jose Bautista is expected to return from injury this weekend
Earlier in the week it looked like Toronto Blue Jays power hitter Jose Bautista could be headed to the disabled list (DL) with a shoulder injury. Manager John Gibbons mentioned: “If he doesn’t show much progress the next couple of days, it is always a possibility,” Jays manager John Gibbons said. “As of [Wednesday], it’s just a sore shoulder. … today he couldn’t throw a baseball.”
However, Gibbons said last night that it looks like the slugger will avoid a stint on the DL. While Bautista is unlikely to land on the DL as a result of the injury, it will still likely require him to fill the DH role instead of manning the OF as he was.
The unfortunate thing is that this whole situation could have been avoided. The Blue Jays were leading 13-4 over the Orioles on Tuesday when the injury occurred, as Bautista tried to throw out a runner at first base. On Wednesday, Gibbons mentioned that Jose Bautista was too sore to even pinch-hit. “I probably shouldn’t have made that throw,” Bautista said Wednesday. “I hate to say it, and I think it’s weird when hockey does it, but I’m day-to-day. I have to see how [Thursday] feels. I can’t jump ahead and say I’ll be ready to hit in two days. My shoulder is sore right now and that’s all I can say.”
The problem may not have been his effort in throwing out the runner at first, but very well could have been his emotions. Baltimore Orioles pitcher Jason Garcia threw behind Bautista on what looked like an intentional pitch. Two pitches later, Bautista put a Garcia fastball into the seats, and took some major personal time getting around the bases. When he hit second base on his way around he laid down some expletives for Orioles infielder Ryan Flaherty in response to whatever was said to him. Once Bautista crossed the plate, he stood for a second and looked right into the Orioles dugout. The Orioles didn’t quite like the way Bautista handled himself. There was several shots of center fielder Adam Jones nodding his head and saying “okay…okay” as though he was challenging Bautista.
Once the inning ended, Bautista was taking the field and Jones had a few words for him. Bautista wasn’t timid and shot back at Jones, aggressively pulling his jersey, which looked as though he was saying “I was thrown at…behind my back!” The first batter for the Orioles was Delmon Young. Young hit a line drive to Jose Bautista, and when the ball hit the ground, Bautista tried to throw Young out at first and embarrass the Orioles even more.
Fantasy Impact
Even though Jose Bautista is not putting up a significant batting average (.149), he is tied with the team lead in home runs (4), and third in RBI (10). Outfielder Kevin Pillar has taken over the right field duties until more is learned from Bautista’s injury. Nobody is going to mistake Pillar as “Joey-Bats,” but he is a serviceable outfielder, and will start in his spot, until Bautista returns. It does appear that Bautista should return at some point this weekend as the team’s DH. Until he does, I would recommend looking at Rays’ outfielder Steven Souza (.288, six runs, four home runs, 11 RBI with four stolen bases). Diamondbacks outfielder Ender Inciarte could also boost your batting average category as well as runs, as he is hitting .310 with 13 runs scored. Yankees outfielder Chris Young, who is batting .368 with four home runs and nine RBI, is also an option.
Mike Valverde is a correspondent for FantasyPros, and he also writes for Fantasy Sports Warehouse. You can follow Mike @RFLRedZone and Fantasy Sports Warehouse @FantasySportsWH.
