The Blue Jays have placed starting catcher Gregg Zaun on the 15-day disabled list with a mild strain and inflammation in his right elbow. Zaun has played in 41 games for the Jays this season and he is 33 for 125 (.264 avg, .710 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 2 homers, 8 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Zaun will be replaced on the roster by 25-year old righty swinging catcher Curtis Thigpen. Thigpen has played in 41 AAA games this season and he is 36 for 158 (.228 avg, .581 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 1 homer and 18 RBIs. Veteran Rod Barajas will take over as the starting catcher for the Jays the next two weeks. He has played in 27 games this season and he is 21 for 76 (.276 avg, .776 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 3 homers and 11 RBIs. Barajas will likely do a solid job while Zaun is out.

Veteran lefty stopper B.J. Ryan appears to be all the way back for the Blue Jays. He has been cleared to pitch on back to back nights by doctors for the first time in two years due to his recovery from Tommy John Surgery. Ryan has pitched in 16 games this season and he is 1-0 with 11 saves, a 0.56 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. Ryan has only allowed 11 hits while whiffing 20 batters in only 16 innings which is pretty darn awesome. If the Blue Jays ever start hitting the ball they will win a ton of games because of their pitching staff.

Forget all of the Yankees and Red Sox hype about their young pitchers as Shaun Marcum is better than any of them. He has started 10 games for the Blue Jays this season and he is 4-3 with a 2.80 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP. He has whiffed 59 batters and allowed only 36 hits in 64.1 innings this season. It’s too bad the Blue Jays’ offense sometimes takes days off when Marcum is pitching because he should have a couple of more wins already. He might get to start the All Star Game if he keeps pitching like he is right now.

The Mariners have claimed 27-year old righty reliever Tracy Thorpe off waivers from the Blue Jays. Thorpe has pitched in 13 games (0 starts) in AAA ball this season and he was 2-0 with 4 saves, a 2.63 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. He whiffed 18 batters in only 13.2 innings but he walked 9 batters. The Jays are one of the “Moneyball” teams so they despise walks. The Blue Jays likely won’t lose any sleep with Thorpe out of their organization.

The Blue Jays have lost 24-year old righty swinging 3B/SS Sergio Santos on waivers to the Twins. Santos played in 29 games in AAA ball so far this season and he was 18 for 105 (.171 avg, .438 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 4 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Santos used to be one of the brightest prospects on the Blue Jays so it hurts that he has essentially failed for them.