TORONTO (AP) -The Toronto Blue Jays got outfielder Vernon Wells back before Sunday’s 4-0 loss to Cleveland, only to lose third baseman Scott Rolen after the game.
Wells came off the 15-day disabled list and went 0-for-4 as the designated hitter after missing 26 games with a strained left hamstring.
“Good to be back, bad game to be back,” Wells said. “Felt good some at-bats, a little tardy on other ones.”
After being scratched from the lineup, Rolen was placed on the 15-day DL after the game with soreness in his left shoulder.
Rolen, who is batting .252 with seven homers and 38 RBIs in 88 games, revealed July 30 that his surgically repaired shoulder was causing him pain and that he planned to begin “extensive” rehab and take days off for the remainder of the season. Rolen, who last played Friday, had missed five of 11 games before landing on the DL.
“Hopefully it’s going to be best for him because he was having a problem with range of motion of his shoulder,” manager Cito Gaston said. “He’s playing and not really being himself as far as swinging the bat. Maybe this will give him a chance to get some more range of motion and maybe get the old Scotty back here.”
The 33-year-old Rolen had surgery on his shoulder once in 2007 and twice in 2005. He was traded to Toronto last January in a deal that sent Troy Glaus to St. Louis.
Rolen said deep massages during rehab have led to pain in his neck and back.
“The rehab is pretty intense, digging pretty deep into the shoulder and the capsule trying to loosen up some tissue,” Rolen said. “When doing that and trying to play and swing a baseball bat at the same time, we’re kind of counteracting what we’re doing. If we give it time to cool down a little bit and get in there and dig and get after that without having to swing the bat and undo it, that’s hopefully going to help it recover a little better.”
Rolen also hurt a finger at the end of spring training, causing him to miss the first 23 games of the season.
Outfielder Kevin Mench, originally optioned to Triple-A Syracuse to make room for Wells, will take Rolen’s spot on the roster. He is batting .233 with no homers and eight RBIs in 37 games.
Gaston said before the game that Wells could return to the outfield when the Blue Jays begin a four-game series in Detroit on Monday.
“I’m pretty sure he’s OK,” Gaston said. “I’m just going to try and take it easy on him for a while so we don’t lose him again.”
The 29-year-old Wells injured his leg stealing third base in a game July 9 against Baltimore. He began a rehab assignment at Triple-A on Friday, going 0-for-4 as the DH, then played four innings in center field Saturday, finishing 0-for-2 with a walk.
Wells was happy with the way his leg felt in the rehab stint.
“Once I’m loose, I’m good,” Wells said before the game. “I won’t be stealing any bases, but aside from that, I’ll be all right.”
After the two games in Scranton, Pa., Wells flew to Toronto from Philadelphia on Sunday morning, arriving at Rogers Centre about two hours before the game.
Gaston said the cleanup spot is where he intends to keep Wells.
“Maybe it will change here or there, but that’s where I want him to hit,” Gaston said. “He was in that spot before he got hurt and we’ll just put him back in there.”
Wells missed 26 games earlier this season after he fractured his right wrist making a diving catch May 9 at Cleveland. He’s batting .287 with nine home runs and 42 RBIs this season, the first of a seven-year, $126-million contract extension.
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