TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays placed shortstop Bo Bichette on the 10-day injured list with a right calf strain and called up No. 2 prospect Orelvis Martinez on Tuesday.
Bichette has missed Toronto’s last three games with the sore calf and his placement on the IL is retroactive to June 15. Blue Jays manager John Schneider said they are hopeful Bichette’s IL stint will be the minimum and he can be activated on June 25, when he is eligible.
Orelvis has ENTERED the building! pic.twitter.com/7H8YTeTsYX
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) June 18, 2024
Bichette has had an uncharacteristically slow season, hitting .237/.286/.342 with four home runs in 66 games. But losing his bat is still a tough blow for the Blue Jays, who are 35-37 and sit five games out of a playoff spot ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Boston Red Sox at the Rogers Centre.
“(It’s) tough because it’s your everyday shortstop and a big part of your team,” Schneider said.
Martinez is the Blue Jays’ second-ranked prospect and ranked 43rd in all of baseball on The Athletic’s Keith Law’s latest MLB top-50 prospect list. This season, the 22-year-old infielder was hitting .260/.343/.523 with 16 home runs in 63 games with Triple-A Buffalo.
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The Blue Jays plan to primarily play Martinez at second base, with potentially some third base mixed in.
If he’s not starting, the club won’t hesitate to use his bat off the bench, either. Martinez was not in the starting lineup on Tuesday against the Red Sox.
“Hopefully he continues to swing it the way he’s been swinging,” Schneider said. “There’s going to be a little bit of a learning curve, I still think — defensively speed of the game and things like that, but he obviously can swing it, so we’ll get him in there for a few games.”
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Martinez has been especially productive against left-handed pitching this season, hitting .321/.406/.661 against southpaws compared to .240/.324/.480 against right-handers.
In a separate roster move, the Blue Jays recalled right-handed pitcher Ryan Burr and optioned left-hander Brandon Eisert to Triple A.
Meanwhile in other injury news, Blue Jays starter Alek Manoah had successful UCL reconstructive surgery with an internal brace and is expected to rejoin the Blue Jays in the next few days to begin his recovery and rehab program.
(Photo: Dan Hamilton / USA Today)