TORONTO – Blue Jays shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, recovering from a cracked shoulder blade, tested his arm again Friday prior to Toronto’s game against Tampa.
Under the watchful eye of head trainer George Poulis, Tulowitzki looked relaxed in fielding grounders and throwing to first base. Still, there’s no timetable for his return.
“We’re not that far — yet. Hopefully we do talk about that soon, but that’s not been talked about yet,” the 29-year-old Tulowitzki said.
“Progress,” echoed Jays manager John Gibbons. “No date yet, but progress.”
Tulowitzki was hurt Sept. 12 in a fielding collision with teammate Kevin Pillar at Yankee Stadium.
READ MORE: Blue Jays shortstop Troy Tulowitzki cracks left shoulder blade
While he has been fielding balls, his hitting has been restricted to a couple of sessions off a tee since the injury.
He fielded Friday but did not pick up a bat.
“Ground balls went well, and I feel like I’m moving a lot better,” he told reporters. “From the beginning, I said swinging was going to be the last thing. I’m just going in there, light swings off the tee, nothing major yet. But definitely I’m excited in the direction that I’m headed. It’s definitely a good sign.”
“I felt more like myself out there,” he added. “More aggressive. Felt normal.”
Tulowitzki, who also suffered bruising to his upper back, says he feels the injury away from the ballpark.
“I think I probably feel it more when I’m laying in bed than I do when I’m taking ground balls, to be honest,” he said.
Gibbons, meanwhile, looked to lighten Josh Donaldson’s load by having his third baseman play designated hitter Friday.
READ MORE: Blue Jays’ Josh Donaldson is AL MVP front-runner
Cliff Pennington started at third, with Ryan Goins at shortstop, Darwin Barney at second and Edwin Encarnacion at first.
“He (Donaldson) needs it, he definitely needs it,” Gibbons said before the game. “We wanted to do it the last week but we weren’t able to. This way it keeps his bat in there. I mean he’s been going every day.”
In other injury news, Gibbons said surgeons took care of a cyst in second baseman Devon Travis’s shoulder and did some general cleanup Wednesday. “No real damage,” he said.
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