The Blue Jays felt it was better to be safe than sorry.
So with veteran catcher Gregg Zaun suffering some mild inflammation in his right elbow, the Jays decided to place him on the disabled list rather than go with just one catcher -- Rod Barajas -- over the next week. With Zaun on the DL, the Jays called up catcher Curtis Thigpen from Class AAA Syracuse.
"It's just a little strain, but unfortunately, because I'm a catcher, we can't really wait three or four days like anybody else," Zaun said of his injury. He said he first felt some discomfort in Monday's game in Toronto against the Royals.
"Yeah, it made sense, get rid of it," manager John Gibbons said of placing Zaun on the DL.
Zaun's transaction was made retroactive to Monday, meaning he'll be eligible to return on June 11.
In 41 games this season, Zaun is batting .264 with two homers and eight RBIs.
"I'm just going to give it a few days and let it calm down," Zaun said, adding he wouldn't be participating in any baseball drills over that time.
Thigpen, who spent some time with the Jays last season, was batting .228 with one homer and 18 RBIs in 41 games with Syracuse.
BLUE JAYS 2, ATHLETICS 1: Alex Rios snapped a 1-1 tie with an RBI double in the ninth inning to score Shannon Stewart from second as the Jays beat Oakland for the first time in five meetings this season. B.J. Ryan came on in the ninth inning and is now 12-for-12 in save situations. Roy Halladay (6-5) allowed one run on eight hits over eight innings. He walked one and struck out nine as he improved to 4-1 in May.
