Thrill wears off in Montreal exhibitions

bone spurs, Gibbons replied: “Did you guys interview the trainers?”

The ligament tear and compression fracture Tulowitzki suffered in his right ankle last July 28 has caused a pre-existing bone spur problem to resurface. New York Yankees first baseman Greg Bird will undergo surgery to remove a bone spur from his right ankle and is expected to be out for six to eight weeks, but at least there is a timetable for Bird’s return. With Tulowitzki, nobody seems to know anything.

“I know they’re looking at different things and I know he’s frustrated,” offered Gibbons.

Knowing that Tulowitzki’s health was going to be uncertain this season, the Jays went out and signed a slew of veteran infielders to provide depth — Aledmys Diaz, Yangervis Solarte and recently Danny Espinosa — and it’s a good thing they did. Gibbons likes the pop Solarte brings to the plate.

“We think it’s important to get Solarte as many bats as we can,” said the manager. “He’ll play some third too and Josh (Donaldson) will DH (sometimes). We think that will be good for him.”

As for Devon Travis, Gibbons said the oft-injured second baseman is coming out of camp healthy, but the club is going to be very careful with him. “(He’ll play) two or three games in a row, then an off day,” said Gibbons.

Gibbons also reiterated that they’ll watch how much playing time veteran catcher Martin gets this year. Martin is 35 and is playing the toughest position in baseball. The Jays are going to do everything possible to keep him healthy and fresh, even if that means starting back up Luke Maile — he of the .146 batting average last year. Jays’ GM Ross Atkins talked about possibly upgrading the backup catcher position, but it doesn’t appear that’s going to happen anytime soon, which is fine with Gibbons.

“Shoot, I love Luke,” said the skipper, adding that Maile did a great job handling the Toronto pitching staff last season. “I saw a much better spring training out of him and I thought his swing looked better, more consistent.”

Toronto Blue Jays veteran catcher and Montreal native Russell Martin, sliding into second on a double in Monday’s exhibition game against St. Louis, says the Montreal games still pack excitement for him.