Blue Jays receive good news on Cecil, Rasmus

BALTIMORE -- Brett Cecil appears to have avoided a potential major injury after Blue Jays manager John Gibbons confirmed that the left-handed reliever is dealing with inflammation.

Cecil's season came to an end last week after he continued to experience soreness in his left elbow. The original diagnosis was inflammation, but he was scheduled to undergo further tests in Florida.

The latest round of examinations didn't reveal any structural damage and although that was the hope all along, the club can relax a little knowing he won't have to undergo any type of major surgery.

"He just has inflammation, that was it," Gibbons said. "You never really know until you get in there but, yeah, that was a relief."

Cecil needs an extended period of rest following a heavy workload during his first season as a reliever. He finished the year with an impressive 2.82 ERA while striking out 70 in 60 2/3 innings.

There had been some speculation from outside the organization that Cecil could possibly transition back into the rotation next year, but that has been ruled out. Cecil has said his preference is to remain in the bullpen while Gibbons echoed similar sentiments Tuesday afternoon.

"I like him there, he has been dominating in that bullpen role," Gibbons said. "You always look for those good lefties that can come in and get left-handed hitters out, those guys are valuable. I see him staying right where he's at."

Center fielder Colby Rasmus also received good news earlier this week when it was confirmed that he didn't suffer any major damage to his face after being struck by an errant warmup throw from Anthony Gose on Friday in Boston.

Rasmus' orbital bone on the left side of his face appeared secure during initial tests, but the club needed to wait until the swelling went down until it could know for sure. He has since been cleared, but has remained in Boston and isn't expected to rejoin the team before the end of the year.