The Toronto Blue Jays placed veteran first baseman Brandon Belt on the 10-day Injured List on Tuesday with lower back muscle spasms. Outfielder Nathan Lukes has been recalled from Triple-A Buffalo in his place.
The 35-year-old has appeared in three games during the month of September because of that aforementioned back issue along with a bout with a stomach virus.
Belt played twice during Toronto’s series in Colorado with the Rockies a couple of weeks ago and then didn’t suit up again until Monday’s series opener with the Texas Rangers. The lefty struck out in his first two at-bats and was lifted from the game because of back spasms.
The Blue Jays inked Belt to a one-year, $9.3 million contract in the off-season to provide a much-needed veteran presence in the middle of the team’s lineup. He was coming off of knee surgery and started very slowly in April but was one of the team’s best hitters from May through August, posting a .269 batting average and .901 OPS over that time.
With Belt on the shelf, switch-hitting rookie Spencer Horwitz will likely get more playing time. The 25-year-old put together a huge season for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, slashing a .337/.450/.495 line over 484 plate appearances with 78 walks compared to 72 strikeouts.
Horwitz was brought up to make his big league debut in June and the Blue Jays called him up again when rosters expanded in September. Through 10 games in the majors, Horowitz has gone 8-for-26 with one homer, one double, three walks, and seven strikeouts.
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