St. Petersburg, FL – Prior to Friday's series opener, the Toronto Blue Jays reinstated pitcher J.A. Happ from the bereavement list and placed shortstop Munenori Kawasaki on the paternity list.
Happ returns to the club one day before his scheduled Saturday start. The last time the 30-year-old pitched against the Rays, on May 7, he was forced to leave early after taking a line drive off the side of his head and did not take the mound until Aug. 7.
Prior to the freak injury, the southpaw was 2-2 with a 5.11 earned run average in nine starts.
Kawasaki can only remain on the paternity list for a maximum of three days. The exuberant 32-year-old is hitting .205 with one home run and 20 RBI in 72 games with Toronto.
In other roster news, the Jays announced that pitcher Luis Perez was sent on a rehab assignment to Single-A Dunedin, that pitcher Mickey Storey was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo and outfielder Anthony Gose was recalled from Buffalo.
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