Blue Jays reinstate catcher Russell Martin from 10-day disabled list

TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays reinstated catcher Russell Martin from the disabled list on Tuesday ahead of their game against the Baltimore Orioles.

Martin hasn’t played since Aug. 11 when he injured his left oblique during a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The 34-year-old from Montreal wasn’t in the starting lineup Tuesday night but manager John Gibbons expects to start Martin on Wednesday in the finale of the three-game set against Baltimore.

“He’s going to take BP tomorrow and if all is good he’ll be in there tomorrow night,” Gibbons said. “We’ll probably play him a couple days then give him a day (off), something like that.”

Martin hit .223 with 12 homers and 27 runs batted in over 81 games for the Blue Jays this season.

But Gibbons sees more to Martin than his offensive stats.

“Russ is a difference-maker,” Gibbons said. “Go back the last few years, every team he’s on goes to the playoffs and there’s something to that.

“Obviously there’s a good supporting cast but you win with pitching and he makes a difference behind the plate.” 

The Blue Jays have been going with a trio of catchers since rosters expanded Sept. 1, with Luke Maile, Miguel Montero and Raffy Lopez sharing the duties behind the plate.

Toronto opened play Tuesday well off playoff pace, 7 1/2 games back of a wild card spot.

“He wants to (play) real bad,” Gibbons said of Martin. “There’s only a couple weeks left and it’s important to him. I could have gone either way but he wants to do it.”

The Canadian Press

var addthis_product = “wpp-5.0.6”;
var wp_product_version = “wpp-5.0.6”;
var wp_blog_version = “4.8.1”;
var addthis_plugin_info = {“cms_name”:”WordPress”,”cms_version”:”4.8.1″,”plugin_name”:”AddThis Sharing Buttons”,”plugin_version”:”5.0.6″,”plugin_mode”:”WordPress”};
if (typeof(addthis_config) == “undefined”) {
var addthis_config = {“ui_atversion”:300,”data_track_clickback”:true,”services_exclude”:”favorites,mailto”,”services_expanded”:”facebook,flipboard,google_plusone_share,linkedin,reddit,pinterest_share,tumblr,twitter,email,print”,”ignore_server_config”:true};
}
if (typeof(addthis_share) == “undefined”) {

}