DUNEDIN, Florida - It was a precautionary measure.
Sergio Santos, expected to be the Blue Jays' closer when the team breaks camp on March 31, felt soreness in his triceps after Sunday's one inning outing against the Phillies. On Monday, he underwent an MRI.
"If it was up to me I wouldn't have even gotten an x-ray but it's the powers that be that want you to do it," said Santos. "It took all of 40 minutes and it put their concerns to ease. I knew I was fine, I could have picked up a ball and threw it (Tuesday.) We're trying to learn from our mistakes from last year; me personally, trying to push it and keep going. I'll take my two or three days now as opposed to have it lingering or even get worse."
Santos felt fine immediately after Sunday's outing, said so to the assembled media at the time, and the triceps pain didn't develop until later in the evening.
The Blue Jays don't want a repeat of 2012 when, fresh off acquiring Santos from the White Sox and signing him to a lucrative three-year deal that could stretch to six years with team options, the closer went down in April with a sore shoulder and eventually had surgery.
Santos is a power pitcher whose fastball has been clocked at 98 mph, struck out two Phillies on sliders Sunday, including Ryan Howard. When he next pitches on Saturday he'll throw exclusively fastballs and changeups. The slider puts the most torque on the arm.
"My slider is right where I want it to be," said Santos. "I don't have any issues with it as far as to lefties or righties. It won't take me long once we get back in to games to get back on time with my slider. My changeup is something that I feel I need a lot more work in. By us exclusively working on those two pitches it's almost going to force me, when I'm going to want the tendency to throw a slider to get an out, it'll allow me to work on the changeup and throw it in situations that I might throw it in the season."
Had this happened in season Santos would have taken "a day or two" to rest but nothing more. In the spring, he'll take the time he needs.
"Right here we're afforded the luxury of having those extra couple of days and couple of weeks so it's better to take our time with it now, get it fully healed and get it going again."
NOTES:
- Brandon Morrow threw his slider for the first time this spring on Wednesday.
"I was able to throw it for strikes," said Morrow after exiting the Blue Jays' 4-1 loss to the Tigers in Lakeland. "I started throwing it in bullpens before last start and just playing catch with it. In the bullpen this time it felt good so I went out there with it."
- Colby Rasmus (right shoulder) participated in Wednesday's team workout in Dunedin. He's expected to return to the lineup on Thursday.
- The Blue Jays play the second of three consecutive road games, Thursday, against the Orioles in Sarasota.
Mark Buehrle will make his third start of the spring and will pitch three innings. The rest of the pitching lineup is as follows:
Justin Germano (2 innings)
Evan Crawford (1)
Claudio Vargas (1)
Alex Hinshaw (1)
Juan Perez (1)
Mickey Storey (1)
