APTORONTO - A.J. Burnett won’t make his first two starts of the season and will go on the disabled list.
Burnett threw off a mound on Tuesday for the first time since taking himself out of a game March 18 complaining about elbow pain.
An MRI exam showed it was just scar tissue breaking away from his right elbow, and the team has been cautious. Ricciardi said Burnett will make his first start against the Chicago White Sox on April 16.
“He’s going to miss his first two starts,” Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi said Wednesday from Dunedin, Fla. “We could probably bring him back a little quicker, but I think all things being equal this allows him to keep him totally on track to where he’s supposed to be.”
Burnett signed a $55 million, five-year contract during the offseason, three years after elbow surgery.
Ricciardi said Burnett will pitch three or four innings Saturday in Toronto’s final spring training game. He will begin the season on the 15-day disabled list and make rehab starts April 6 and 11.
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