Bautista's return rides on doctor's approval

PHOENIX -- On the shelf since Aug. 21 with a bone bruise in his left hip, Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista flew to New York City on Monday for a medical evaluation of the injury.

"They'll look at it and check out his progress," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "He's feeling better, though."

Although Toronto is optimistic that Bautista can rejoin the club before the season ends, the Blue Jays are not rushing anything and will wait to hear the results from the doctor's appointment before determining what is next.

"We hope so, but we'll have a better idea in the next couple days after he sees the doctor," Gibbons said. "We still have a month left, but once he gets cleared to go, he's got to get back into baseball stuff."

Before the injury, Bautista was hitting .259 with 28 homers, 73 RBIs and an .856 on-base plus slugging percentage.