Via a tweet from the official Buffalo Bisons account, Toronto Blue Jays' left fielder Melky Cabrera and relief pitcher Sergio Santos will be joining the Bisons' roster in time for their 7 pm game against the Toledo Mud Hens.
Cabrera had been experiencing obvious discomfort and pain while running this season, and has looked a lot slower than in the past. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list on June 28 with left knee tendinitis, and after a couple weeks' of rest, started his rehab program. Like other players on rehab this year, he has moved up the system, making several stops: he played two games in Dunedin and three in New Hampshire. The only video of him during rehab has been this video of him jogging around the bases after homering for the Fisher Cats:
After pitching just six games in 2012, Sergio Santos was disabled this year after just five games with a triceps injury. His trip back from his injury included his enrolment in the "weighted-ball" program in mid-June. He pitched six games in Florida starting on July 3 (one for the Gulf Coast team, five for the Dunedin team), including a back-to-back day outing on July 14 and 15. He pitched an inning every outing except for the last, when he was pulled after just getting two outs. That last outing stoked some worry among Blue Jays fans as his velocity was significantly lower than usual, topping off at around 90 mph. Even in his second last start, his velocity sat at mid-to-low 90s, according to a conversation I had with Tyler Murray, Dunedin's radio broadcaster. With this move to Buffalo, perhaps we can conclude that the Blue Jays are not as worried as we are about Santos's velocity. It would be good for us because Buffalo games are televised and pitchers' velocities are generally included on Gameday.