In the middle of the most successful Blue Jays seasons in ages, there is some controversy, albeit low-level controversy, between GM Alex Anthopoulos and currently injured minor league player Steve Tolleson.
It involves Tolleson being designated for assignment earlier this season and the fact that he has been on the Blue Jays’ “temporarily inactive” list since early July. Tolleson says he’s injured and that both the DFA and the temporarily inactive status was improper, because you can’t DFA injured players. Anthopoulos said last week, however, that in the view of the organization “Steve Tolleson just decided he didn’t want to play anymore,” suggesting he just quit on the team.
Today in the National Post, Tolleson takes strong issue with that:“I have a wife and two kids, and over the last three months I haven’t had an opportunity to be with them because of my injuries, going from doctor to doctor, from Florida to Buffalo, and traveling with the Buffalo team, trying to focus on getting healthy,” Tolleson said.
“If I would have wanted to quit, I would have gone home to be with my family.”He says he’s close to being able to return for Triple-A Buffalo and that he’s excited what the Jays have done this year. In the meantime, he and the Blue Jays are discussing their dispute with the MLBPA and with Major League Baseball.