The Toronto Blue Jays aren't willing to risk third baseman Brett Lawrie suffering another long-term injury.
The team announced Monday that the native of Langley, B.C., will open the season on the disabled list with strained rib cage. The Blue Jays had been holding out hope that Lawrie might be ready to open the season on time, but decided a careful approach was needed.
Last season Lawrie tried to play through pain and ended up missing two months with a right oblique injury.
"It's a precautionary thing," manager John Gibbons said Monday before Toronto's exhibition game against the Philadelphia Phillies. "And with those injuries, like we've said before, if you aggravate them again sometimes they become long-term and we don't want to risk that."
Lawrie has not played since March 6 after he strained a muscle in his left rib cage in Canada's exhibition game against the Cincinnati Reds leading up to the World Baseball Classic.
Because he has not played his move to the disabled list will be backdated, so that he will miss only the first four games of the season if he is ready to return.
Gibbons put no time frame on Lawrie's return.
"It's not like he had a big setback or anything," Gibbons said. "You look at the schedule, a week from tomorrow we're starting. He had limited at-bats before he went to the WBC and he hasn't had any since. Basically, we're not going to be able to get him into enough games before the season starts to feel comfortable with it."
Gibbons also said Monday regular catcher J.P. Arencibia and backup Henry Blanco would share the catching for knuckleball pitcher R.A. Dickey. Having a personal catcher for Dickey and his tricky knuckleball had been a consideration.
"They will both catch him," Gibbons said. "There will be nights when we want J.P.'s bat in there and it will also give Blanco a chance to catch some of the other pitchers."
Arencibia will catch Dickey in the season opening game on April 2 against the Cleveland Indians at Rogers Centre.
Catcher Josh Thole, who caught Dickey last season when the two were with the New York Mets, was optioned to AAA Buffalo.
Dickey won the National League Cy Young Award last season.
The Blue Jays were satisfied with the way Arencibia handled the knuckleball in the WBC where he caught both Dickey's starts for Team USA.
'Good job'
"To be honest with you I thought J.P. might have a hard time catching the knuckleball, having never caught it and it kind of made sense [to have a personal catcher]," Gibbons said. "But he did a good job, all the reports we got and everything we saw. Henry won't strictly be his guy, they'll both catch him."
Dickey was asked for his input and agreed with the move.
"We asked him how he liked throwing to these guys." Gibbons said. "And he said: 'I like throwing to all of them. They all did a nice job."'
Blanco has caught Dickey's past two outings since he returned from the WBC, both minor-league games.
The moves were among those announced Monday as the Blue Jays solidify their roster for the opening of the season.
Gibbons said that the Blue Jays likely would have an eight-man bullpen to open the season while Lawrie is on the disabled list. Mark DeRosa and Maicer Izturis will share third base in Lawrie's absence.
First baseman Edwin Encarnacion is expected to return to action within the next few days and Gibbons expects him to be ready for the season opener. Encarnacion has not played since returning from helping the Dominican Republic win the WBC title because of a swollen index finger
In other moves made Monday outfielder Anthony Gose was sent to triple-A Buffalo on option while right-handed pitcher David Bush was assigned to the minor-league camp and will start at Buffalo.
Catcher Mike Nickeas will stay with the Blue Jays through their two exhibition games Friday and Saturday against the Phillies in Philadelphia before being assigned to the minors, Gibbons said.
Right-hander Brad Lincoln, who has been out since March 9 with a sore right shoulder, was scheduled to pitch in a minor-league game on Monday. The plan had been to stretch him out so that he could be a long reliever or a starter and that if he opened the season in the minors it would be as a starter.
Instead he will be used a reliever when he opens his season, likely with Buffalo.
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