Blue Jays place Gurriel on IL with quad strain

The Toronto Blue Jays placed outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. on the 10-day injured list with a left quad strain, the team announced Saturday.

Word of his injury initially came Friday but the team elected to wait a day before placing him on the IL to determine who would be recalled in his place, according to Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith.

Gurriel suffered the injury while running out a ground ball in the ninth inning of Thursday's game.

(Courtesy: MLB.com)

Though initially deemed a cramp, an MRI revealed the outfielder suffered a strain. The Blue Jays are hopeful he won't need more than the minimum 10-day IL stint, Nicholson-Smith reports.

The 25-year-old is in the midst of a breakout season for the Blue Jays, as he's hit .279/.331/.548 with 19 homers and 47 RBIs, and his 1.9 WAR leads all Blue Jays position players. He shook off a horrific start and an April demotion to become the team's everyday left fielder.

Reliever Brock Stewart was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo in a corresponding move. Stewart has made just one appearance for Toronto since being claimed off waivers on July 31.