Jays place slugger Bautista on 15-day DL with wrist injury

Toronto, Canada (4E Sports) – The Toronto Blue Jays placed slugger Jose Bautista on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday after suffering a left wrist injury against the New York Yankees Monday.

The Blue Jays said Bautista has left wrist inflammation. He was immediately sent Monday night for X-rays, which came back negative.

The American League home run champion the past two seasons, Bautista is just one behind Adam Dunn of the White Sox for most home runs in the Major Leagues, with 27. He is hitting .244 with 65 RBIs and an .897 OPS while drawing 58 walks in 90 games.

The injury occurred during a swing in the middle of an at-bat against New York right-hander David Robertson in the Blue Jays’ 6-3 loss.

Bautista drove a 2-0 fastball deep into foul territory down the left-field line but during his follow-through, he grimaced and dropped his bat. After a few minutes, he was removed from the game.

“Unfortunately on the swing on the 2-0 fastball, he felt a sensation in that left wrist that obviously took him out of the ballgame,” Blue Jays manager John Farrell said. “He didn’t say exactly when, but through the course of completing the swing he felt a little bit of a popping sensation.”

“As we said, the X-rays are negative, so it’s not a bone structure. We have to determine what it is, as far as the ligaments in the wrist area, so that’s where the MRI has to come into play tomorrow,” Farrell added.

Bautista’s injury came while the Jays are clawing their way back into contention in the American League wild-card race. Toronto is just two games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the AL race for a playoff spot.

“We’ve been fortunate as far as our everyday lineup is concerned,” Farrell said. “As far as injuries, we’ve been relatively injury free. This is the first one, and it’s a big blow, there’s no doubt, but until we have an idea of how long this will be, we won’t know how big of a blow until tomorrow.”

Toronto purchased the contract of outfielder Anthony Gose from Triple-A Las Vegas to take Bautista’s spot on the roster. Gose, 21, was hitting .293 with five home runs, 41 RBIs and 29 stolen bases in 91 games for Las Vegas.

In June, Toronto placed starting pitchers Brandon Morrow, Kyle Drabek and Drew Hutchison on the disabled list within the span of a week.

Before the All-Star break, Jays’ reliever Luis Perez suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament that will require Tommy John surgery. He joined fellow relievers Sergio Santos and Jesse Litsch on the 60-day DL.

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