Blue Jays' injury worries mount as Russell Martin hits DL

Coming into Monday’s game the Toronto Blue Jays had a multitude of well-documented issues like an 11-20 record, a surprisingly unproductive lineup and a disabled list full of stars.

Another item was added to that list of woes prior to their matchup with the Cleveland Indians, as the club announced catcher Russell Martin had hit the 10-day disabled list with nerve inflammation in his left shoulder. Apparently, the 34-year-old has been dealing with the problem all season.

“It’s hard to explain,” he said. “It was feeling like a strength issue — it wasn’t a painful thing,” he said. “It has nothing to do with pain at all. So they’re thinking it’s a nerve-related issue.”

During spring training Martin’s glove began feeling heavy and he would fatigue unusually early in games. There was a time when he switched to a smaller glove and thought he might be out of the woods, but the injury has returned to the point that playing through it isn’t an option.

“Really, I don’t know where it comes from, but I know my shoulder doesn’t feel right. It doesn’t feel like it’s moving the way it should,” he said. “I’m having a hard time lifting my arm and catching certain pitches.”

The exact source of the injury is unclear at this point, though Martin points to a collision at the plate with Tim Beckham on April 29 as an event that aggravated it.

As far as timetables go, nothing is firm at this point. Manager John Gibbons is optimistic, but he readily acknowledges he doesn’t have the answers right now.

“I don’t think it’ll be too long,” Gibbons said. “It’ll be 10 days, I do know that.”

From here the best thing Martin can does is rest and hope the strength and feeling returns to his shoulder.

“They say it’s more of a rest thing when it comes to nerves,” he said. “You can easily over-treat them, so right now they want to just keep me from doing too much.”

Martin now joins Josh Donaldson and Troy Tulowitzki among the Blue Jays’ core position players on the disabled list. All three are set to return soon, but none of them have solid return dates. As a result, there’s a massive hole in the Blue Jays lineup for the foreseeable future.

This is a trio that managed 12.3 WAR last season — more than the rest of the team’s position players combined (11.1). All three are difference-makers on both sides of the ball.

After an awful 0-for-20 start to the season, Martin had been one of the team’s top offensive contributors and was hitting third in the lineup consistently before going down. His OBP of .365 is first on the team and his wRC+ of 108 is second only to Kevin Pillar.

In order to replace Martin on the roster, the Blue Jays called up Mike Ohlman from the triple-A Buffalo Bisons. Gibbons isn’t exactly sure how he’s going to mix the offence-first Ohlman with catch-and-throw defensive specialist Luke Maile, but the former’s bat certainly caught his eye in spring training.

“I like the way he caught the ball, but I really liked the way he swung the bat,” Gibbons said. “He’s a big dude, a big strong guy, and he hit at least two home runs — some bombs — down there. Looks like he can hit.”

The hulking 6’5″, 240-pound catcher is known for wielding thunder in his bat, and he’s been true to form in triple-A so far this season, posting a .246/.388/.594 line in 23 games with seven home runs.

Although there’s some optimism about Ohlman’s ability to hit, it softens the blow like a Kleenex catching a bowling ball. What Martin does behind the plate is irreplaceable, and he’s a steady presence in a lineup begging for consistency.

Everyone, regardless of their level of optimism about the Blue Jays, must agree this team has dug itself a hole. While they’re done an admirable job insuring the pit doesn’t get any deeper, one by one they seem to be losing the tools needed to escape it.