Before this afternoon’s game against the Rays, the Blue Jays activated catcher Danny Jansen from the injured list and optioned Riley Adams to Triple-A. Jansen will be limited to scripted usage in the near-term, as manager Charlie Montoyo is committed to riding the hot hand of Reese McGuire for now, per Scott Mitchell of TSN Sports (via Twitter). McGuire was designated for assignment at the start of the season, and he’d have to be waived again for Toronto to take him off the active roster. He’s not going anywhere for now, however, not while he continues to hit as he has, with a .302/.350/.406 triple slash line through 104 plate appearances. That means Alejandro Kirk will remain in Triple-A for the time being, where he is currently on a rehab assignment.
More from Toronto and the rest of the American League:
- In other Blue Jays catching news, top prospect Gabriel Moreno underwent surgery on his fractured right thumb, as first reported by Future Blue Jays (and confirmed by Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet). There’s no specific timetable on his return, but the young backstop will be out for multiple weeks. Moreno entered the season as one of the top catching prospects in the minors, and he’s taken his stock to another level with Double-A New Hampshire. Despite only being 21 years old, Moreno has thrived at the minors’ second-highest level, hitting .373/.441/.651 with eight homers across 145 plate appearances.
- The Mariners don’t appear particularly close to returns from either of a pair of injured regulars. There’s still no timetable on center fielder Kyle Lewis, who is recovering from a meniscus tear in his right knee, relays Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (Twitter links). Lewis isn’t eligible to return from the 60-day injured list until early August, but it doesn’t seem feasible to expect him back at that point given the vague outlook on his injury. First baseman Evan White, meanwhile, “isn’t close” to even resuming baseball activities after receiving a cortisone shot in his ailing left hip, per Divish. White is eligible to return from the 60-day IL in a little over a week, but he’s obviously going to need significantly more time than that to recover.
- The Tigers are planning to be more judicious with Casey Mize’s and Tarik Skubal’s in-start workloads in the coming weeks, writes Evan Woodbery of MLive. Detroit isn’t planning to shut down either of their prized young hurlers entirely; instead, there’ll be pre-planned quick hooks during some starts to keep their innings totals in check. The process already began during Mize’s start yesterday, as manager A.J. Hinch lifted the 24-year-old after three innings and 56 pitches against the White Sox. Mize, who threw 28 1/3 innings during last year’s shortened season, is up to 91 1/3 frames in 2021. Skubal tossed 32 innings in 2020 and is up to 82 2/3 this season after today’s five-inning outing against Chicago.