Notebook: Troy Tulowitzki dealing with chronic bone spur in right heel

TORONTO — Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki “aggravated a chronic bone spur” in his right heel while doing conditioning work to rehab from 2017’s right ankle injury, TSN’s Scott Mitchell reports.

The Blue Jays will take a conservative approach with Tulowitzki and assess the heel further when he arrives for spring training.

Tulowitzki appeared in just 66 games last season before injuring his right ankle on July 28. The injury was initially diagnosed as a sprain, but further tests revealed ligament damage.

On January 12, general manager Ross Atkins indicated that Tulowitzki’s recovery from that ankle injury was going according to plan, which came as positive news for the Blue Jays alongside Devon Travis, Toronto’s second baseman who was working his way back from a knee injury.

“Troy’s ankle has been really responding well to everything,” Atkins said at the time. “Both have just hit every mark that we asked them to hit so we’re expecting them to be full go and ready to go at the beginning of spring training.”

It is not yet clear how Tulowitzki’s bone spur will impact that timeline, if at all. No surgery will be needed.

Jake Petricka rehabbing in minor-league camp

Right-handed relief pitcher Jake Petricka has moved to the minor-league camp where he will continue to rehab from offseason elbow surgery.

After hitting the disabled list late in 2017 with a strained throwing elbow, Petricka eventually landed in the office of Dr. James Andrews and underwent surgery for a nerve transposition and debridement of his flexor tendon. At the time of the surgery — which took place on October 20 — Petricka was given a three-to-four month recovery time before he could resume throwing.

Updates will be provided on Petricka’s timeline as they become available.

Photo by Keith Allison of Hanover, MD, USA [CC BY-SA 2.0]