Diaz, Jenkins get call in latest set of moves
TORONTO -- The Blue Jays' flurry of roster moves continued on Monday afternoon as the club promoted utility man Jonathan Diaz and right-hander Chad Jenkins from Triple-A Buffalo.
To make room on the 25-man roster, catcher Erik Kratz was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo and right-hander Sergio Santos was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right forearm.
The Santos injury had been previously revealed by the club on Sunday afternoon, but the other moves had not yet been announced. Jenkins was added to replace Santos, while Diaz became a surprise addition because the club wanted another versatile defender.
"The way we're looking at it, if we're going to play [Juan] Francisco some at third, late in the game, maybe we're looking for an above-average defender, Jonny Diaz can do that," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "Jonny can also play the outfield, [Steve] Tolleson can play the infield and play the outfield. It gives us two guys that can play both spots."
Toronto has made 42 transactions dating back to one day before the season opener vs. Tampa Bay. Ten of those have been related to the DL, 16 were promotions to the big leagues, 10 were players being sent down and six were designated for assignment. The 42 includes Kenny Wilson and Mickey Storey, who were designated for assignment but didn't play on the 25-man roster this season.
The Yankees have made the most transactions in the American League East so far this season with 49. Toronto is second while Baltimore (37), Tampa Bay (31) and Boston (21) round out the rest of the division.
The timing of Monday's moves were rather curious, because they came just one day after closer Casey Janssen was activated from the DL. Even though the Blue Jays apparently knew that Santos was injured, they wanted to give him a little more time to heal before making a roster move.
That resulted in second baseman Chris Getz being designated for assignment prior to Sunday's 9-3 loss to the Angels. After the game, it was announced that Santos was going on the DL, and the following day Diaz was brought in for Kratz to give the club another infielder.
"We were going to give it a day just to see and we decided, you know what, in the long run it's better off," Gibbons said of putting Santos on the DL. "If it's just two weeks, he gets through it."
Jenkins has felt the roster crunch on more than one occasion. He has been promoted to the Major Leagues three times in the past two weeks, with only one of his stints lasting more than a handful of days. That's part of the job Jenkins signed up for, but it still has to be incredibly taxing on a young pitcher just trying to establish himself.
The 26-year-old hasn't been able to settle into much of a routine. He has been constantly transitioning from Toronto to Buffalo, and along the way has more delayed flights, lengthy drives and hotel stays than almost all of his peers.
"I was laughing with my mom, 'You know, I haven't slept in the same bed more than two nights in a row in like 12 days. My back doesn't know what a solid mattress feels like for more than three days,'" Jenkins said. "It's been fun, it's been a ride, it's been crazy."