. . . The Jays’ Kevin Pillar on the 15-day disabled list. Stories,
Outfielder optimistic he can recover within next 15 days
Even Superman may need surgery.
It hasn’t come to that point yet, but Kevin Pillar — a.k.a. Superman in the Blue Jays outfield — touched on the subject if the aches and pains in his left hand linger without much improvement in the off-season.
He was put on the 15-day disabled list Monday with a ligament sprain in his thumb. Pillar suffered the latest injury Saturday against Kansas City, after sliding headfirst into second base on a stolen base attempt.
Pillar has never had surgery, remarkable given his all-out approach in centre field.
The 27-year-old said he visited a hand specialist Monday and discussed options given to him by Toronto team doctors which were surgery (now), a cast or rest. He took door No. 3 (rest), with confidence he can recover well before the twoweek stint on the DL is over.
“That’s the plan, that’s always been the plan . . . we’re going to give it rest and we’ll come back and help this team. But you know, if things are still there in the off-season, then surgery is something you might talk about then,” Pillar said, wearing a wrap around his thumb.
Pillar said if surgery is needed in the off-season, he can see a scenario where he has the procedure shortly after the Jays season is done. The fallout would be six weeks of rehab, but it would completely “clean up” any lingering problems with the hand and thumb.
Pillar has that option buried deep in the back of his mind, especially with the pennant race about to heat up at the end of August.
“That’s my prognosis, that’s the only one that matters to me, how I feel with it,” said Pillar, adding that he won’t change his style of play to steer away from headfirst slides.
“For me, if I can’t swing (100 per cent), or I can’t squeeze the ball in the glove, then I won’t play. But I can get by and help the team, if I can give them base running and my defence, then I want to be out there.
“But it’s not about me. It’s their (team’s) decision and I don’t resent the decision. We had a conversation and I went to see the specialist to give me more clarity. I hope it’s like a (Troy Tulowitzki) situation (quad tightness in late May), take a few days and reassess.”
Melvin Upton takes over Pillar’s spot in centre field, with Darrell Ceciliani called up from Buffalo.
Pillar also conceded that this latest injury is not the first problem with his hand he’s been battling through. He wore a baseball version of an oven mitt to protect his hand last season and earlier this year. He plans to wear additional protection on his left thumb when he returns to the lineup later this month.
“I had issues with the hand, similar to what Edwin Encarnacion had last year (sore wrist and pain in the handfingers) . . . it started towards the end of spring training this year, it was sore, but we taped it up and we can play,” Pillar said.
Jays manager John Gibbons said the team must “move on” from Pillar’s injury, regardless of the obvious fact his loss is a blow to the team.
Pillar has appeared in 109 games, with a .261average, 36 extra base hits, 10 homers and a 2.6 WAR, tied for second on the team with Encarnacion (Josh Donaldson tops the team at 6.2).