Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson (20) fields a foul ball against the Cleveland Indians during eighth inning, game five American League Championship Series baseball action in Toronto on Wednesday, October 19, 2016. Donaldson missed the first full-squad spring training workout on Saturday after tweaking his right calf.Manager John Gibbons said Donaldson was scheduled to undergo an MRI exam later in the day. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan DenetteThe Canadian Press
The first full official workout of the spring training campaign for the Toronto Blue Jays took place here on Saturday morning and there were a couple of notable absences.
Third baseman Josh Donaldson, who will be expected once again to carry a heavy load for the Blue Jays this year, skipped the workout after reporting stiffness in his right calf.
And No. 1 catcher Russell Martin, who is coming back after having minor off-season surgery to his left knee, also did not participate in any of the drills after coming down with a fever.
Donaldson is considered an indispensable part of the Blue Jays. The American League's most valuable player in 2015 who last season hit .284 with 99 runs batted in.
"He tweaked his calf running some sprints [on Friday]," Toronto Manager John Gibbons said. "He'll have to get an MRI and we'll know more. Hopefully it's not a big deal. It might cost him a few days and that's not going to kill him."
The regular season opener isn't until April 3, when the team travels to Baltimore to play the Orioles, giving Donaldson ample time to recover.
The same goes for Martin, whose health concern is also not believed serious.
"I mean any time in professional sports that an athlete is injured there's some level of concern," Blue Jays General Manager Ross Atkins said. "It's not the news you want to receive but you anticipate. It's inevitable with all the players.
"What I can tell you, Josh does a very good job of taking care of himself. He's put himself in a great position in this off-season, he's in really good shape. And he also recovers very well. So when you factor all of that in, it mitigates the concern to some extent."
Later in the day, the Blue Jays in a tweet stated that Donaldson has been diagnosed with a right calf strain. They said he will be treated and evaluated daily, and it is anticipated that he will be ready to start the season.