Injured Grichuk back in the swing of things
DUNEDIN — Randal Grichuk eased his way back into hitting on Sunday, doing some light work, like swinging the bat in the cage.
The Blue Jays will hope it was a small step forward for the outfielder, one of Toronto’s biggest off-season acquisitions, who has been struggling with rib cage soreness of late.
Manager John Gibbons said he is not sure if Grichuk’s rehab will extend into the season, but was encouraged by the possibility of him taking batting practice on Monday if all went well on Sunday.
“The season’s not too far off, we’ve got to be smart about it,” Gibbons said.
“Today will be a big day for him, because swinging the bat’s the big issue.”
The rib cage problem is the second issue Grichuk has been sidelined with this spring; he sprained his left wrist during a game in late February.
The 26-year-old has just 17 at-bats so far, six of which ended in hits for three RBIs and a .353 average.
With 11 days to go before Toronto takes on the New York Yankees to open the season, time is of the essence for Grichuk, who is expected to take on the role of starting right fielder. But the Blue Jays also have a capable backup plan in Teoscar Hernandez, who will likely start the year with Toronto’s Triple-A affiliate, the Buffalo Bisons, unless Grichuk isn’t healthy.
Hernandez has had a productive spring, batting .333 with 12 hits, 10 RBIs and three home runs in 36 at-bats.
Gibbons has long been a fan of Hernandez, who impressed the manager when he was called up to the major leagues last September.
“Shoot, I love the way he’s playing,” Gibbons said. “He’s talented.”
JAYS IN ACTION: Toronto fielded a big league team to start the day’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, but it was the lesser-knowns who made the difference in the 5-2 win.
Starter J.A. Happ threw 84 pitches over 6.0 innings, allowing four hits and strike out five. He gave up a solo run to Starling Marte in his final inning, which put the Pirates up 1-0. Justin Smoak, who has recovered from a wrist sprain earlier in the week, responded with a two-run homer of his own in the seventh, scoring Gift Ngeope.
By that time, Smoak was one of only a few players who started the game still on the field: Devon Travis, Russell Martin, Kevin Pillar, Josh Donaldson and Curtis Granderson had already been pulled.
Pittsburgh tied things up in the eighth through left-fielder Bligh Madris but a pair of RBIs from Blue Jays catch Patrick Cantwell and a third from Danny Espinosa sealed the deal for the Toronto.
The Blue Jays got an inning a piece of Luis Santos, Roberto Osuna and Tyler Clippard in relief, who allowed two hits between them.
NOT SO FAST: John Gibbons may be on the same page as Marcus Stroman when it comes to the hope that he’ll start Toronto fourth game of the regular season against the New York Yankees, but he deferred to his players with it came to the pitcher’s other desires.
Stroman said on Saturday he hoped to see top prospects Vlad Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette called up to the big league level immediately but Gibbons figured he needed to broach that subject with a couple of his current teammates first — particularly the ones whose jobs could be threatened.
“Did he talk to (Josh) Donaldson and those guys about that yet?” Gibbons quipped.