Jays place Martin on DL, recall Ohlman, designate Lawrence

The Toronto Blue Jays have placed Russell Martin (Montreal, Que.) on the 10-day disabled and recalled catcher Mike Ohlman (above) to replace him on the roster. Photo Credit: Jay Blue

By Andrew Hendriks

Canadian Baseball Network

As those in Toronto prepped for Edwin Encarnacion’s homecoming party at Rogers Centre, the Blue Jays formally placed Russell Martin on the 10-day disabled list prior to calling up catcher Mike Ohlman, and designating right-handed pitcher Casey Lawrence for assignment on Monday. 

Sidelined with what the team is calling left shoulder nerve irritation, Martin becomes the latest Jay to land on the DL joining batterymates J.A. Happ (elbow inflammation), Aaron Sanchez (split nail,) Bo Schultz (arm) and Glenn Sparkman (thumb), the left side of Toronto’s infield in Josh Donaldson (calf) and Troy Tulowitzki (hamstring) as well as outfielder Dalton Pompey (concussion). 

Martin exits the lineup having reached base safely in 11 straight games while batting .297 and drawing 10 walks over that stretch. For the season, the 34-year-old Canadian is batting .197 with three home runs and a Major League-best OBP of .600 off relief pitching.

Ohlman, 26, will be making his MLB debut after slashing .246/.388/.594 with a team-leading seven home runs as a member of the triple-A Buffalo Bisons in 2017. The 6-foot-5 product of Bradenton, Fla., joins the Blue Jays having amassed the third highest slugging percentage among all qualified batters in the International League this season.

In order to clear a spot for Ohlman on Toronto’s 40-man roster, the Blue Jays were forced to make a tough decision and subsequently opted to drop one of their spot starters following Joe Biagini’s solid outing in Tampa on Sunday.

Lawrence, 29, made four appearances with the Blue Jays in 2017, going 0–3 with an ERA of 8.78 across 13 1/3 innings. 

To date, Toronto has lost a grand total of 187 man games to injuries in 2017. 

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