John Gibbons' Blue Jays will be bringing out eight-ninths of their regular starting lineup in Dunedin today in a Friday afternoon tilt against the Tampa Bay Rays. The only man missing is centre fielder Colby Rasmus, who has been out for a week now with neck issues. At first it was said to have been caused by sleeping wrong, but it may be another case of the Blue Jays downplaying injuries. Mike Wilner reports that Rasmus had cortisone injected directly into his neck a couple days ago and that he should be able to make lane changes today, and perhaps start "baseball activities" tomorrow if he feels better.
Here are the starting lineups for the game today, which is being broadcast on both TV and radio.
Drew Hutchison, who has looked impressive so far this spring, was bumped to Saturday's game in favour of Mark Buehrle, who will start today against Alex Cobb. Following Buehrle will be three pitchers eyeing a place in the starting rotation: Marcus Stroman for three innings, Ricky Romero, and Todd Redmond.
In another bit of injury news, J.A. Happhas been shelvedindefinitely due to his back inflammation. According to Gibbons, Happ wanted to maintain his schedule but the Blue Jays refused. Casey Janssen is still battling shoulder soreness issues, but at least he is now throwing on flat ground. You know, we discuss roster crunches a lot on this website, but thanks to injuries, we might not have to worry about it for a while longer! Yay!