Eric

Hinske

The reigning AL Rookie of the Year is off to a rough start, hitting .093 with no homers.

It still wasn’t a banner night for Hinske, who was 1-for-4 with no runs or RBI and two strikeouts. He’s now hitting .120.

No word on what the Jays are looking to receive. The Reds aren’t a great fit for Hinske. He’s owed $12.95 million over the next three seasons, and top prospect Edwin Encarnacion should be ready in 2006. The Tigers or Mariners might make more sense.

Playing against lefties will likely hurt Hinske’s batting average, but that will more than made up for by the increase in runs and RBI.

Hinske has played most of the season with discomfort in his right hand and wrist. ''They think there is something wrong with the hamate bone. If I have to have surgery [to remove the bone] I’ll probably miss four to six weeks,’' Hinske said. He had found a way to swing pain-free last week, only to have that end on a swing-and-miss Friday. Now, ''I can’t even hold on to the bat anymore. It hurt, worse than it has ever been before,’' Hinske said. We’ll know more later, but Hinske should be reserved this week.

The recovery time is estimated at 3-to-6 weeks. Once the cut heals in 7-10 days, Hinske can resume baseball-related activities.

Hinske has already been battling tendinitis in the same wrist for a month. It’s possible he could go on the DL, but the Jays don’t want to go down that road just yet. Leave Hinske active until further notice.

Hinske had surgery May 26 to fix a broken hamate bone in his right hand. The cut was estimated to take 7-10 days to heal, but the count is now at 19, which could push his return more towards the long end of the 3-6 week estimate.

Batting Catalanotto second makes plenty of sense, but it’s not good news for Hinske’s fantasy value.

Hinske didn’t get nearly enough credit for providing whatever offense the Blue Jays could muster without Carlos Delgado and Frank Catalanotto in the lineup this last month.