The Jays are quietly confident that RHP Casey Janssen could be back with them by the middle of May. Janssen, who missed all of 2008 following shoulder surgery, was auditioning for a spot in the rotation this spring but was derailed when he felt tightness in back of his shoulder. That ailment proved unrelated to his surgery, and Janssen hasn't had any setbacks in his rehab. He is tentatively scheduled to pitch twice for Dunedin in the Florida State League, to be followed by two more outings in the Double-A Eastern League with New Hampshire.
PLAYER NEWS: --RHP Casey Janssen made a rehab start for Class A Dunedin on Monday, pitching four shutout innings. "I was looking forward to having him on this team this year because his first (spring) outing was so great," manager Cito Gaston said. Janssen is expected to be back with the Jays in two to three weeks.
--LHP David Purcey on Monday was battered by the Royals over five innings -- six runs, eight hits -- and suffered his second loss of the season. In five starts, he has yet to post a win. In three of them, he has pitched poorly, as his 7.01 ERA would suggest. "(Purcey's inconsistency) might become a problem as far as his confidence goes," manager Cito Gaston said. "J.P. (Ricciardi, the Jays GM) and I may have to have a conversation about just how far we want to go before we start being concerned about his confidence level."
--LF Travis Snider has had a power outage since he hit two tape-measure home runs against the Twins on April 13. Since that date, Snider has appeared in 11 games, has not hit a home run and has hit just three doubles.
--2B Aaron Hill had his 11-game hitting streak end with an 0-for-3 performance Monday against Kansas City. He bounced back Tuesday to go 3-for-4 with two RBIs.
MEDICAL WATCH:
RHP Casey Janssen (right labrum surgery in March 2008) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 27. He missed all of last season. He began a rehab assignment with Class A Dunedin on April 27, and he could be back with the Blue Jays in mid-May.
LHP B.J. Ryan (left trapezius tightness) went on the 15-day disabled list April 23. He will need a rehab assignment before returning to the Blue Jays.
LHP Ricky Romero (strained right oblique muscle) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to April 20.
C Michael Barrett (torn right shoulder muscle) went on the 15-day disabled list April 18.
RHP Jesse Litsch (strained right forearm) went on the 15-day disabled list April 14. He is expected to miss six to eight weeks. Litsch experienced discomfort while throwing on April 25.
RHP Dustin McGowan (right shoulder surgery in July 2008) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 27. Initially, he was expected to be able to contribute by mid-June 2009 at the latest, but it appears that a late-July date is a best-case scenario.
RHP Shawn Marcum (Tommy John elbow surgery in September 2008) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 27. Initially, the Blue Jays didn't expect him back until 2010. Now they say he could be back by August.
ROTATION:
RHP Roy Halladay
LHP David Purcey
RHP Scott Richmond
LHP Brian Tallet
LHP Brian Burres
BULLPEN:
LHP Scott Downs (closer)
RHP Brandon League
LHP Jesse Carlson
LHP Bill Murphy
RHP Jason Frasor
RHP Shawn Camp
RHP Bryan Bullington
CATCHERS:
Rod Barajas
Raul Chavez
INFIELDERS:
1B Lyle Overbay
2B Aaron Hill
SS Marco Scutaro
3B Scott Rolen
INF John McDonald
INF/OF Kevin Millar
INF/OF Jose Bautista
OUTFIELDERS:
LF Travis Snider
CF Vernon Wells
RF Alex Rios
DH Adam Lind
