It's a good news / bad news kind of day.
Edwin Encarnacion
Slugger Edwin Encarnacion is slotted into the leadoff spot--which gives him the maximum number of plate appearances as possible--as he begins his rehab stint with the Buffalo Bisons, who will host the Norfolk Tides at 7 pm in a game that is threatened by a pretty nasty-looking rainstorm. Encarnacion only got four plate appearances with Dunedin earlier this week because of a few rain outs in Florida--and now it looks like he brought the weather with him.
#Bisons lineup lists Encarnacion in leadoff slot at DH. #Bluejayspic.twitter.com/ltBkf8kWIK
— Mike Harrington (@BNHarrington) August 12, 2014Here is a Vine of him swinging in the indoor batting cage:
I don't hear him screaming in pain so I guess he's ready to go! Encarnacion hasn't played with the Blue Jays since July 5, which was a little over a month ago, but it seems like he has been gone for longer than that. The aim, Gregor Chisholm tells us, is for EE to return the roster this Friday in Chicago.
UPDATE: The rain has come and gone, according to the Bisons' official Twitter account.
Weather Update #Bisons fans: The rain has stopped at Coca-Cola Field. Looking real good for baseball tonight vs. Tides. #BlueJays
— Buffalo Bisons (@BuffaloBisons) August 12, 2014Adam Lind
Chisholm also tells us that Adam Lind played in a simulated game in Dunedin yesterday and should be already in Seattle if everything went according to schedule.
UPDATE: Barry Davis informs us that Lind is in Seattle and will be activated before tonight's game. Yay!
I can confirm Adam Lind is here in Seattle and at Safeco. Will be activated for tonight's game. #bluejays
— Barry Davis (@SNBarryDavis) August 12, 2014Neil Wagner
It's been a tough year for Neil Wagner. First, he, as a reliever with options, was sent down to Buffalo in April despite posting good numbers. Then, he was recalled for one game where he took a shelling, giving up six runs against the Indians in that forgettable 15-4 loss at home (Dustin McGowan's final start). He returned to Buffalo and threw four games before he again was shelled, giving up four runs before being pulled after launching a pitch to the backstop (Ricky Romero also got a season-ending injury that game).
By mid-June he had already seen Dr. James Andrews who prescribed a three-week rest period. About six weeks later he threw to one batter, 18-year-old Astros prospect Luis Payano, in a rehab stint with the GCL Blue Jays before he was pulled. Unfortunately for Wagner, Payano homered off of him, so now has an infinite ERA in the GCL.
The Blue Jays officially announced today that Wagner will be undergoing Tommy John surgery on August 19, which means he will likely miss all of 2015 as well. He remains on the 40-man roster, at least for now.
Jesse Goldberg-Strassler
Tonight, Lansing Lugnuts radio broadcaster Jesse Goldberg-Strassler will be conducting his annual tribute to the old days of baseball broadcasts, when radio guys would sometimes call the game without actually being at the park. He and Trey Wilson will be making fake crowd noises and low-tech sound effects to make the blind call as real as possible. Listen to the online broadcast for free here.
The threat of rain aside, @treywilson757 and I will re-create tonight's #Lugnuts game with canned crowd noise and sound effects. #tradition
— Jesse G-S (@jgoldstrass) August 12, 2014