Toronto Blue Jays: Josh Donaldson Injury Compounds Team’s Poor Start
By Tim Haberin
The news that Josh Donaldson might hit the DL due to his calf injury just underscores how rough the Toronto Blue Jays’ first couple weeks have been.
The Toronto Blue Jays certainly did not expect to begin the season at 1-8. That mark puts them at the absolute bottom of Major League Baseball, at least for the moment. Many projected the Jays to compete for an AL Wild Card spot, and while there is still plenty of time to do that, they have put themselves in an early hole.
To make matters worse, the calf injury that has nagged Josh Donaldson since Spring Training hasn’t gone away. The third baseman was forced to leave last night’s game in the sixth inning after aggravating the strain while rounding first base on an RBI double. The Jays went on to lose the game 2-1 to the Orioles for their sixth straight defeat.
According to Jon Morosi of MLB Network, Toronto will likely have to place Donaldson on the disabled list.
While losing your top slugger is never a welcome development for any team, it’s a particularly tough blow to a Jays offense that has struggled thus far in 2017. Toronto ranks dead-last in MLB in runs scored (24), hits (57), home runs (4) and OPS (.548). Their lineup was expected to take a step back after losing Edwin Encarnacion, but the sluggish pace they’ve set – albeit through only nine games – has been concerning.
Donaldson has been one of the few hitters pulling his weight. Through 35 plate appearances, the slugger owns a .310/.429/.586 slash line with two home runs, two doubles and four RBI. It’s the kind of production the Blue Jays have grown accustomed to seeing from Donaldson, who won the MVP in 2015 and finished fourth last season.
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As for the rest of the starting lineup, the numbers at this early juncture are fairly grim. If you’re looking for anything resembling a highlight, free agent addition Kendrys Morales has knocked a homer and driven in six runs. Troy Tulowitzki has a round-tripper of his own and leads the club with nine RBI, though he’s batting only .212.
No one else with at least 10 plate appearances under their belt sports an OPS over .600. Nearly-wayward son Jose Bautista is slashing a lowly .152/.275/.212 with zero homers and a lone RBI. For a team that boasted such a high-powered offense not that long ago, it’s a bit jarring to see them so sapped of power, even over a short span of time.
Obviously, the Jays’ bats won’t slumber forever. There are guys on this roster with too much talent not to turn things around. That said, Donaldson is a huge presence to make up for, even if everyone else was performing like they usually do. They’re going to need someone like Bautista, the veteran face of the club, to step up if Donaldson misses significant time.
Of course, the Toronto pitching staff has to round into form as well. The young guns are doing splendidly, with Aaron Sanchez and Marcus Stroman both rocking sub-2.00 ERAs. However, the veteran members of the rotation – J.A. Happ, Marco Estrada and Francisco Liriano – have to pitch more like they did a year ago.
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Just one win out of nine games is not a death sentence, but it should be raising some alarm bells north of the border. The Blue Jays will hope Josh Donaldson can return healthy in short order to lead the way back into the race.