Toronto Blue Jays can’t afford to lose Russell Martin long-term

The Toronto Blue Jays added another player to their lengthy disabled list on Monday when they placed Russell Martin on the 10-day DL with nerve irritation in his left shoulder.

Prior to Edwin Encarnacion‘s return to the Rogers Centre on Monday, the Toronto Blue Jays surprisingly placed catcher Russell Martin on the 10-day disabled lest with nerve irritation in his left shoulder.

The 34-year-old catcher has been one of the Blue Jays most durable players and is known to play through just about anything. However, this is an injury I’m guessing the Jays don’t want to linger, and although Martin is right-handed, his left shoulder is the bottom shoulder on his swing and it is used to not only help him drive through the ball, but also to absorb the impact and torque when he swings. It’s tough to say exactly what this all means for Martin since it’s a nerve issue, but he remains without a timetable.

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With seven players, earning a combined $72 million this season, on the disabled list, it’s safe to say Toronto is decimated by injuries. The bigger problem for the Jays, though, is not only are these players nearly impossible to replace, the majority of them remain without a definitive timetable to return.

Aaron Sanchez and Troy Tulowitzki could be back this upcoming weekend against the Seattle Mariners, while Josh Donaldson remains on the DL with a calf strain and could be weeks away still, and J.A. Happ is dealing with a left forearm injury and remains without a timetable, too.

Now you add Martin into the injury mix and it’s tough to feel optimistic about the Blue Jays, who are actually playing .500 baseball recently. Considering how much Martin does for the Jays on defence he’s an extremely important player for this team.

With Toronto releasing Jarrod Saltalamacchia a week ago, the Blue Jays will use Luke Maile and Mike Ohlman, who was recently called from triple-A Buffalo, to handle all the duties behind the dish.

Of course, few teams could replace a player like Martin, let alone one that needs to play .600 baseball the rest of the way to reach 90 wins, so here’s to hoping this is not an extended absence.

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How concerned are you about Russell Martin’s injury? Do you believe the Toronto Blue Jays can somehow salvage this season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.