According to the Blue Jays radio broadcasts' "Third Man in the Booth" Mike Wilner, Toronto will be recalling infielder Munenori Kawasaki to the major leagues before Tuesday night's game against the Yankees.
Welcome back, Muni! #Bluejays will recall Munenori Kawasaki for tomorrow's series opener with #Yankees Expecting Lind or Cecil to DL. #Jays
— Mike Wilner (@Wilnerness590) June 17, 2014While Wilner was the first to give the news to the Toronto crowd, apparently this Twitter account had the news early:
ちょっくらメジャー行って来ます。一人で空港さみしい（ ; ; ） pic.twitter.com/41WdD2E6fb
— ムネリン通信〜川﨑宗則〜 (@MuneKawasakiWB) June 16, 2014Maybe more of us English-speakers should start following @MuneKawasakiWB, as it seems to be somewhat legitimately connected to Munenori Kawasaki, or at least a very good stalker:
リムジンで迎えに来てくれた、運転手さん。やっぱりメジャー最高(^○^) pic.twitter.com/idHHDnvHFu
— ムネリン通信〜川﨑宗則〜 (@MuneKawasakiWB) June 17, 2014Kawasaki spent most of 2014 with the Buffalo Bisons, save for a three-game stint with the Blue Jays in mid-April. The fan favourite has been hitting .276/.320/.388 in triple-A so far, with an impressive 11 doubles (and a triple) in 129 plate appearances. In his last 20 games (arbitrary end-point alert!), he has been hitting .300/.354/.417 with five doubles and five multihit games. Kawasaki re-signed with the Blue Jays on a minor league contract, but was returned to the 40-man roster when Marcus Walden was designated for assignment.
As Wilner mentioned, Adam Lind and Brett Cecil are both candidates to go on the 15-day disabled list. Lind fouled a pitch off his foot on Saturday and was removed from the game. An initial CT scan showed no fracture, so a diagnosis of a bone contusion (bruise) was announced. However, he was seen wearing a walking boot and using crutches on Sunday, and it was reported on the game telecast that he was still feeling pain. Cecil left the game a day earlier, stumbling off the mound with an apparent groin injury, which was later called a left groin strain. The National Post's John Lott spoke with Pete Walker who said that Cecil was feeling "OK--not great, but OK."
Steve Tolleson is currently the de facto backup outfielder so the addition of Kawaski into the lineup would be must helpful with infield flexibility. His left-handed bat means John Gibbons could put Kawasaki at second and returning Brett Lawrie to the hot corner over staying with Juan Francisco, who has been struggling at the plate and with the glove.