Blue Jays lose Saunders to freak injury – who takes over in outfield?
DUNEDIN, Fla. – Six weeks before the new baseball season even begins, the Toronto Blue Jays are dealing with a familiar issue: injuries to their outfielders.
New left fielder Michael Saunders is expected to be out until the All-Star break with a torn meniscus, suffered Wednesday at the team’s spring training complex when he tripped in a sprinkler hole while shagging fly balls in the outfield. The freak accident means Saunders, acquired in the offseason from the Seattle Mariners, will need surgery.
It’s a big loss for the Blue Jays and big blow personally to Saunders, a Victoria, B.C., native, who was looking forward to playing for Canada’s only big-league team.
“I’ve described this to a lot of people as nobody is more excited to be here than me,” Saunders, standing with the help of crutches, told a group of reporters. “For me, I think the biggest thing I’m going to have to overcome is mentally rather than physically. I know I’m going to be in good hands. I know I’m going to be OK.
“My goal is to be back by the All-Star break,” he added. “I don’t see why there should be any hiccups in my rehab.”
The injury also highlights a lack of depth in the Blue Jays’ outfield. Jose Bautista is a perennial MVP candidate in right field and, when healthy, will play 150-plus games there. The team appeared set to give the center-field job to rookie Dalton Pompey, who soared through three levels of minor-league ball last year and didn’t look out of place in the big leagues as a September callup. With Saunders out, general manager Alex Anthopoulos said Thursday for the time being there will be an internal competition for the starting job in left field.
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The candidates for that job won’t inspire much confidence in Blue Jays fans. Kevin Pillar may be the early frontrunner despite his .239/.274/.367 slash line in 232 career plate appearances in the big leagues. The other outfielders in Blue Jays camp are non-roster invites Ezequiel Carrera, Chris Dickerson and Caleb Gindl. One-time Tigers outfielder Andy Dirks is in minor-league camp rehabbing his injured back.
Carrera, 27, has appeared in just 176 games over four seasons with three different teams. Dickerson, 32, is a career journeyman having spent parts of seven seasons with five different teams, never playing more than 97 games in a season. Gindl is only 26 and has just 178 big-league plate appearances. Dirks may be a darkhorse contender depending on how his rehab goes. He was an everyday player in 2013 with Detroit but missed all of 2014 with a back injury.
The Blue Jays have had a hard time keeping outfielders healthy over the last couple years. In 2014, Melky Cabrera missed the last 22 games with a finger injury, and Colby Rasmus missed 33 games with a hamstring injury. In 2013, Bautista missed 36 games with a hip injury, Cabrera missed 54 games with a knee injury, and Rasmus missed 29 games with an oblique injury.
Saunders has an injury history of his own. He appeared in only 78 games last year thanks to oblique and shoulder injuries. In 2013 he missed 20 games with shoulder and finger injuries.
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Ian Denomme is an editor for Yahoo Sports. Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter.
