Toronto Blue Jays: Josh Donaldson Misses Second Straight Game
By Tj Porreca
Toronto Blue Jays slugger Josh Donaldson missed his second game on Saturday due to a thumb injury. With the Blue Jays in the midst of a division race, Toronto hopes to have Donaldson back soon.
On Wednesday, Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson jammed his right thumb in Toronto’s game against the New York Yankees. The injury is not viewed as serious, but the Blue Jays are opting to give Donaldson a few days for his thumb to heal.
Donaldson missed Friday’s game at the Cleveland Indians, and was not in the lineup Saturday for the second game of the three-game series. While Donaldson may have missed the first two games of the series, Blue Jays’ manager John Gibbons said he likely wouldn’t miss Sunday’s series finale.
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“No [Donaldson won’t miss Sunday] because I think we need him, but I think one more day [Saturday] will do him a world of good,” Gibbons said, according to MLB.com. “Get him back, rested up and make sure that’s good. That can nag and affect your swing, but we need him offensively. Every game is important.”
Entering Saturday, Toronto held a half-game lead on the Boston Red Sox in the AL East. Toronto was also just 1.5 games up on third-place Baltimore. Toronto’s division lead is the smallest margin in all of baseball at this point. Donaldson, the 2015 AL MVP, is obviously one of Toronto’s best players, so it would present a problem if he were to miss an extended amount of time. But luckily for the Blue Jays, that does not sound like a likely scenario.
Donaldson is hitting .289/.399/.556 on the season, and as Gibbons noted, Toronto will need him in the lineup. Donaldson rarely misses time, as he has played in 119 of Toronto’s 123 games this season. Donaldson has played in 158 games in each of the past three seasons.
At this point, Donaldson’s wRC+ is on par with his 2015 season, at 154. His walk rate has improved this season, up to 14.4 percent from 10.3 percent last season. Donaldson has also cut down his strikeout rate slightly this year, at 17.2 percent, compared to 18.7 percent last year.
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In Donaldson’s place, the versatile Darwin Barney started at third base for the Blue Jays for the second straight game. Barney, 30, has played in 85 games this season, and made his nineteenth start of the season at third base.