Alejandro Kirk underwent surgery on Tuesday to repair his fractured thumb. The Jays' catcher will be out for at least six weeks as he recovers.Mark Blinch/Getty Images
The Blue Jays received some more bad news on the injury front on Tuesday.
“This sounds like a broken record,” Toronto manager John Schneider said during a pregame meeting with reporters.
Early in the day catcher Alejandro Kirk underwent surgery and had a screw inserted in his fractured left thumb which could elongate his return to at least six weeks.
The two-time all-star suffered the injury during the Blue Jays’ 5-4 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Friday when a foul ball struck his catcher’s mitt.
Backup catcher Tyler Heineman has taken over in his place with rookie Brandon Valenzuela getting a start in the second of a three-game series at Rogers Centre on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
But, there is more.
Blue Jays outfielder Addison Barger was placed on the injured list Tuesday before Toronto's night game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Rogers Centre. The team also confirmed that catcher Alejandro Kirk (thumb) would likely miss six weeks and starter Cody Ponce (knee) would likely be out for six months.
The Canadian Press
Infielder-outfielder Addison Barger, who sprained his left ankle while running out a grounder against Chicago on Sunday, has been placed on the 10-day injured list retroactive to April 6. The hope is with treatment and rest he can avoid a longer layoff.
And in one other blow, pitcher Cody Ponce visited a doctor in Los Angeles on Monday and is expected to have surgery next week to repair a sprained right anterior cruciate ligament that will most likely cause him to miss the rest of the season. The injury occurred as Ponce stumbled and fell in his first start for the club on March 30 while chasing after a grounder.
At this point Toronto has six pitchers, two outfielders and one catcher on the injured list for anywhere from 10 to 60 days.
Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Addison Barger is nursing an ankle injury and has been moved to the team's injured list.Kamil Krzaczynski/Reuters
Veteran left-handed pitcher Patrick Corbin, whom the club signed to a one-year, US$1-million contract last week, might get the start as early as Friday when the Minnesota Twins visit Rogers Centre.
Corbin, 36, made one start for Class-A Dunedin last weekend and struck out nine hitters in five innings and gave up one unearned run.
He has a 110-142 record in 354 starts over 13 seasons for Arizona, Washington and Texas.
In another move, infielder-outfielder Tyler Fitzgerald, who was acquired on Saturday in a trade with the San Francisco Giants, was activated for Tuesday’s contest against L.A.