John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
So … most Toronto Blue Jays fans probably saw this situation coming from a mile away, yes?
Take a shortstop whose game is based on speed and dynamism, add a dash of the turf at the Rogers Centre and a whole dollop of near-disaster thanks to an early-season ankle injury, and what you’ve got is Jose Reyes being given a break by the team now that the discomfort he’s been feeling in his ankle may have gotten juuust a bit more serious:
Jose Reyes is out with a knee injury. John Gibbons says it “flared” up on him and is not in tonight or tomorrow. Expected to return Tuesday
— Tony Ambrogio (@SNTonyAmbrogio) August 17, 2013
Considering that he’d come back from his long sprained-ankle layoff and in late June and basically hasn’t taken a day off since, it’s not much of a surprise at all that there would be at least some minor complications, regardless of how much he’d worked to strengthen that part of his body during in his time off.
What is surprising, though, is that the team expects him to be back in the lineup in spite what sounds a bit like an escalating issue.
Yes, if the player is healthy, they should let him play; but in Reyes case, if he’s been already been playing for an extended period of time without being 100 percent, what is there to suggest that he’ll come back on Tuesday and be in full health?
In fact, why would the Blue Jays want arguably their most prized asset from the offseason’s worth of wheeling and dealing playing if he’s not 100 percent at all?
Sure, there is the whole point about finishing strong to make an impression for next season, and to take pride in playing the spoiler role and such … but with the shortstop just having come back from a significant ankle injury, it would seem as though there’s little upside (moral or otherwise) left in 2013 that would be worth having him risk further complications to not just his ankle, but his knees that are currently being affected.
Though he did play a full season in 2012, the 30-year-old spark plug did have issues with his lower body in the seasons prior. Besides, the turf in Toronto isn’t going to soften up any time soon, and the team is playing out the rest of the season with an eyes toward what they can do for a redemption tour in 2014.
If they want Reyes to be a part of that, perhaps the Blue Jays should consider extending this brief break to cover the rest of the season … even if there’s no way he’ll want to do it.
Thom is an MLB writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @BlueJaysRant, or add him to your network on Google
