DUNEDIN, Fla. – As their long toss session came to an end Saturday morning, Josh Donaldson and Troy Tulowitzki started firing baseballs back and forth rapid fire, first from over 100 feet apart, then closer and closer.
Most mornings at spring training, that kind of activity would be completely unremarkable, but it demands some quick footwork, and until recently, Donaldson’s strained right calf wouldn’t have permitted him to move around with such ease.
“I couldn’t have done that probably a week ago,” Donaldson said. “Being able to walk, probably in the last four or five days there’s been a huge improvement in just how I’m able to walk around.”
He continues taking batting practice and fielding lots of ground balls while mixing in throwing sessions. Just as importantly, he can now walk around without discomfort.
“That’s a huge step in the right direction,” he said. “Every day it’s feeling way better.”
The next step for Donaldson will be running. He hasn’t tried to run yet, so that’s the one unknown facing the 31-year-old.
“It’s not necessarily an issue right now, because I haven’t really tried,” he said. “The fact is we’re trying to give it some time to heal up to make sure we’re not rushing it at this point. We feel very comfortable and very happy with how it’s progressing.”
Intent on getting the most out of Donaldson once games count, the Blue Jays aren’t inclined to rush him back. In the meantime, manager John Gibbons likes what he sees in the batting cage.
“To be honest with you, it looked like he hadn’t been out of action at all,” Gibbons said this week. “Guys that can hit, that’s kind of the way it goes sometimes.”
Donaldson hopes to make his Grapefruit League debut as soon as possible, but he’s wary of rushing back, so he intends to be smart with the injury. While starting pitchers need weeks to build up for the regular season, position players require fewer games.
“Honestly, I don’t think I need very many,” he said. “The fact is I think I’ll have enough time where me being ready or not is not going to be an issue.”
Donaldson played through a variety of nagging injuries in 2016, but he still appeared in 155 games, hitting 37 home runs with a career-best .404 on-base percentage. In fact, only five players have appeared in more games since 2013: Evan Longoria, Kyle Seager, Robinson Cano, Mike Trout and Alcides Escobar. With ample time remaining before opening day, the Blue Jays are keeping the long view in mind when it comes to their projected two-hole hitter.
Asked whether he expects to appear in games within two weeks, Donaldson stopped short of setting a timetable for himself but sounded optimistic.
“I wouldn’t say it’s that far away, but I’m not going to put any certain day on it,” he said. “Whenever I do step out there I’ll be ready to go and not have any worries about it.”
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