TORONTO -- Before Thursday’s game against the Rays, the Blue Jays recalled infielder/outfielder Davis Schneider and left-hander Adam Macko from Triple-A Buffalo, optioned infielder Sean Keys to Buffalo and placed lefty Patrick Corbin on the 15-day injured list with a left teres major strain, retroactive to Wednesday.
Corbin had been dealing with discomfort in the area since before the All-Star break and last pitched for the Blue Jays on Tuesday, surrendering four runs in 2 1/3 innings to the Rays. The veteran southpaw is 3-4 with a 5.51 ERA in 19 games for Toronto this season.
“He was kind of battling through it,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “We still don’t know what the exact timeline is. He’s going to get some more imaging and stuff, but he’s going to be down from throwing for multiple weeks. Kind of surprised he was able to keep pitching with it. He’s a gamer, but he’s going to be shut down for a while.”
Davis Schneider, who hit 11 homers for last year’s AL champions, has hit just .153 with three home runs and 12 RBIs in 49 games with Toronto this season. He performed much better for Buffalo, hitting .253 with a .986 OPS and five homers in 30 games.
“I think he’s hitting the ball the way he can hit the ball and still walking and things like that,” John Schneider said. “But he’s impacting it and moving it forward a little bit more. With a string of lefties coming up, too, it would be tougher for Keys to play consistently, so it made sense to bring Davis back.”
Davis Schneider had indeed returned to doing damage at Triple-A. Over his last 10 games, the 27-year-old hit .300 with four homers and 10 walks.
Keys -- Toronto’s No. 15 prospect, per MLB Pipeline -- hit .167 with one homer and five RBIs in 12 games since joining the Blue Jays in late June. Keys forced the club’s hand with a strong first-half performance between Double-A New Hampshire and Buffalo, hitting 21 homers with a 1.028 OPS over 67 games.
A fourth-round pick of the Blue Jays in 2024, Keys now gets the chance to reset in Buffalo after his first taste of the Majors.
“Try to get back into a rhythm, just get back to playing every day. Continue to work first and third defensively,” John Schneider said of what the Blue Jays want to see from Keys back at Triple-A. “It was pretty eye-opening for him, how he was being pitched here with the breaking balls and pitches with depth.
“So, it’s an opportunity for him to go work on that. ... Consistent at-bats are important for him at this part of his career.”
Macko is 2-0 with a 5.03 ERA in 19 games for Toronto this season. He had a 4.18 ERA in 18 appearances for Buffalo.