TAMPA, Fla. — The Toronto Blue Jays believe the prognosis from catcher Danny Jansen’s follow-up appointment with a doctor on Friday was positive, with manager John Schneider afterward calling it the “best possible news.”
Jansen, who fractured the pisiform in his right wrist when he was hit by a pitch on Wednesday, will likely miss two weeks, which is the timeline the Blue Jays initially expected. That means he won’t be with the club to open the regular season, which begins March 28. The hope, though, is that he can return fairly quickly.
“A lot of it will just depend on how [Jansen’s] feeling in the coming days, or really in the next week, and to see if he can start doing some stuff after that,” Schneider said Saturday before the Blue Jays’ spring game against the New York Yankees. “It’s not displaced or anything. Nothing crazy in the joint. So, hopefully it’s rather quick. We’re still looking at a couple of weeks, but best possible news we got yesterday.”
Losing Jansen for any amount of time is a blow to the Blue Jays because the 28-year-old is one of the team’s most important players. From an offensive standpoint, he’s been a key contributor when healthy — Jansen has clubbed 32 home runs and posted a 127 OPS-plus over his 158 games across the past two seasons. His impact on defence is immeasurable, whether it be game calling, pitcher management or steadiness behind the plate.
Alejandro Kirk will assume the primary catching duties and a question in Blue Jays camp now becomes who will serve as his backup to open the campaign. Non-roster invitees Payton Henry and Brian Serven will get additional looks and are the frontrunners for that role.
Henry, 26, was selected in the sixth round of the 2016 draft by the Milwaukee Brewers and has tallied 20 games in the big leagues with the Miami Marlins. Serven, who turns 29 in May, was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the fifth round in 2016 and has played 73 MLB games for that club over the past two seasons.
“We know a lot about them,” said Schneider. “Probably a better defensive track record for Brian and a little bit more offensive-minded for Peyton, but they’re both really good in certain areas behind the plate. So, it’s just a matter of how they match up with guys on our staff and then how they’re going to match up offensively for who we’re playing.
“But, it’s nice to have guys that have spent time in the big leagues and have a pretty good track record of doing one thing or the other.”
Henry, who batted ninth in the lineup and caught starter Paolo Espino during Saturday’s game at George M. Steinbrenner Field, identifies calling games as his greatest strength.
“I think, overall, that’s probably the best attribute I have,” Henry said. “That’s my thing.”
The Utah native has honed that area of his game during his 463 games across seven seasons in the minors.
“It’s an accumulation of going up through the minor leagues and hearing from a lot of different guys,” he said. “I can’t really pick out one guy who helped me with that. But definitely a lot of people have contributed to that.”
Henry is aware that the injury to Jansen has created an opportunity, however, he’s been working diligently to acclimatize himself with Blue Jays pitchers since arriving at camp.
“We’ve had a good spring as I’ve got to know all them pretty well,” said Henry. “Got to catch all of them, whether it’s been a bullpen or in the game. So, that’s been awesome. And it’s always fun learning a new staff, getting to know a new staff and seeing what they have, what the arsenal is like, what their plans are and stuff like that.
“That’s something I really love and like to dive into.”
GAUSMAN UPDATE
Kevin Gausman (right shoulder fatigue) felt good after throwing one inning of live batting practice on Friday and the next step for him will be getting into a spring game.
“Not exactly sure the date yet, but he was feeling good today, so that was a really good day yesterday into today for him,” said Schneider.
The manager noted that it would be a “best-case scenario” if Gausman could slide into the back end of the rotation during the season’s opening week, but timing may not allow for that.
