TORONTO – On Monday afternoon, Jose Bautista spoke of “throbbing pain” in his shoulder that kept him awake at night and barred him from playing right field for more than a month.
On Monday, Bautista said he had been taking pain medication to help him sleep. Because medication and treatments were not working, he said he decided it was time to try the cortisone shot.
He slept well Monday night, he said.
“Definitely, so that’s been a relief,” he said. “It’s what I was looking for, part of it. So now it’s getting back on the field as soon as possible.”
Meanwhile, another injured Blue Jay, catcher-DH Dioner Navarro, started a minor-league rehab assignment with Triple-A Buffalo on Tuesday night. He is recovering from a left hamstring strain.
Navarro was scheduled to catch six innings and lead off for Buffalo to maximize his number of plate appearances.
Manager John Gibbons said he had no idea how many rehab games Navarro would need, but stressed that the Jays would not activate him until they are sure he is ready. He described Navarro as “a big part of our team.” As the regular catcher last year, Navarro hit .274 with a .712 OPS. He played in only eight games this year before he was injured.
During a discussion with reporters about the catching situation, Gibbons seemed to indicate the team would stick with two catchers when Navarro is activated, which would mean Josh Thole would go back to Buffalo.
Asked whether in fact he would carry just two catchers, Gibbons replied: “I don’t know what we’re going to do.”
When the season started, Russell Martin, the regular catcher, handled the starts of knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, with Navarro serving as backup catcher and DH. When Navarro was injured, the Jays summoned Josh Thole, Dickey’s longtime personal catcher, from Buffalo.
Thole has been catching Dickey’s starts, and was set to do so again Tuesday night. He has two hits in 18 at-bats since his promotion from Triple-A.
