TORONTO -- The Toronto Blue Jays on Monday transferred right-hander A.J. Burnett from the 15-day to the 60-day disabled list.

 

Signed to a five-year, $55 million contract in the offseason, Burnett was placed on the disabled list for the second time this season on April 23 with an elbow injury. He now will not be eligible to come off the DL until at least June 21.

 

Burnett is 0-1 with a 6.30 ERA in two starts this season.

 

The Blue Jays were hoping that former Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay and Burnett would form a potent 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation.

 

The 29-year-old Burnett went 12-12 with a 3.44 ERA in a career-high 32 starts for the Florida Marlins last season, recording 198 strikeouts in 209 innings.

:lol

Sucks for him.

Wow AJ. Atleast you have your money.

http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:vOhOjjW3WlqeiM:i7.photobucket.com/albums/y284/fullmulletalchemist/nelson_ha_ha.jpg

Poor The AJ

TORONTO -- With every pitch that A.J. Burnett fired in the bullpen beyond the left-field wall at Rogers Centre on Monday, the Blue Jays began to have a clearer idea of when he might be ready to make his next start.

 

The success of the 40-pitch bullpen session -- the first time Burnett has thrown off a mound since reinjuring his right elbow on April 21 -- helped pitching coach Brad Arnsberg map out a tentative plan for the pitcher's return. That didn't stop the Jays from transferring Burnett from the 15-day to the 60-day disabled list prior to Monday's game against the Red Sox.

 

Fortunately for Toronto, the detailed program that Arnsberg has scheduled sets a return date that falls nearly on the same day that Burnett is eligible to come off the DL. Barring any setbacks, Burnett could come off the DL and start in Atlanta on June 21. According to Arnsberg's plan, which includes two rehab starts in the Minors, Burnett could be ready to make an outing on June 20.

 

"That's about perfect," manager John Gibbons said. "It just made sense. We kind of looked to see where he was at, and we want to make sure he's good and ready. We can't afford another setback."

 

Monday's bullpen session didn't include any setbacks. In fact, Burnett was throwing much harder and felt better than Arnsberg had anticipated. After throwing about 25 pitches off the mound, Arnsberg said, the right-hander appeared to gain velocity and was throwing at an estimated 85 percent to 90 percent.

 

"A.J. was really good -- better than I thought he'd be, really," Arnsberg said. "I told him, 'Easy. We're not trying to climb this mountain in a day.' I just think that's what his body told him to do, throw like that. That's a real good sign, rather than a guy that comes out there and kind of eases through it."

 

Burnett is recovering from a sprained ulnar collateral ligament and strained scar tissue in his right elbow. He sustained a similar injury during Spring Training and landed on the 15-day DL, but returned to the mound for two starts in April. On April 21, he left his outing against the Red Sox after just four innings because he felt the same pain he'd experienced during the spring.

 

The scar tissue is left over from the elbow ligament replacement surgery he underwent in 2003. After injuring the elbow a second time with Toronto, Burnett flew to Birmingham, Ala., where he saw Dr. James Andrews, the orthopedic surgeon who performed the operation. Andrews confirmed that there was no structural damage.

 

Despite the good news, Toronto decided to take a slower approach to Burnett's recovery than the first time around. He rested three weeks before picking up a baseball to begin throwing on flat ground on April 12.

 

"I know that we want him to feel comfortable, and we'll take more time than we did on the last one, because the last one didn't work," Arnsberg said. "If it takes an extra week, then it takes an extra week. We'd like to have him for all of July and August and September. That's the most important thing that we have to keep in perspective."

 

It looks as though the Jays will have Burnett before July.

 

Burnett will have an off-day on Tuesday, will throw long-toss on Thursday and then will pitch off the mound in a second bullpen session on Saturday. Up to this point, he has thrown only fastballs and changeups on flat ground and in the bullpen. He'll begin adding his curveball into the mix this week.

 

Arnsberg then plans on having Burnett throw a simulated game on Monday. The sim-game allows Toronto to control the number of pitches the righty throws in a given inning -- something that is unpredictable in a Minor League rehab start.

 

After working through three or four innings in the simulated game, Burnett will make at least two Minor League starts on a five-day schedule, which puts him on pace to be ready by the time he can come off the DL. "It was pretty exciting to see," Arnsberg said. "You just see this life in this arm, and that doesn't come along very often. He's not even trying yet."

 

 

 

Bluejays.com.

Poor AJ, and poor Jays.

bummer

Laughing at injuries is great!

That's what AJ gets for going to Canada, and this is what the Blue Jays get for being Canadians.

Poor AJ, and poor Jays.

 

I think that $55 million will ease AJ's pain. I'm sure he'll appreciate that extra time on the golf course too (or whatever he does).

 

 

Yeah he likes golf.