Borucki unlikely to return before May

TORONTO -- Left-hander Ryan Borucki has been shut down for at least the next two weeks after he received a cortisone injection in his sore left elbow.

Borucki has yet to pitch this season because of left elbow inflammation. He opened the year on the 10-day injured list and was expected to miss most of April, but his absence should now stretch well into May.

The 25-year-old Borucki had Tommy John surgery earlier in his Minor League career. There has been clear concern about the latest round of soreness but the Blue Jays remain confident he has avoided a major setback because the imaging results have come back clean.

"It's just a mild setback, we hope, is what it is," Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said. "He felt some pain after a bullpen [session]. Getting a cortisone injection will hopefully relieve that. The images are encouraging, that's always a good sign. ... We were encouraged by the images and hopefully the injection will help."

Borucki initially was to open the year as Toronto's No. 5 starter, but instead he opened the year on the IL alongside fellow starter Clayton Richard, who is out with a sore knee. Rookie right-hander Trent Thornton took one of the open jobs at the end of the spring while veteran right-hander Clay Buchholz is set to take the second when he debuts for Toronto on Saturday.

Injury updates

• Right-hander Ryan Tepera tossed a scoreless inning with one strikeout for Triple-A Buffalo on Friday night. Tepera has missed the first two weeks of the season because of a sore right elbow but should be rejoining Toronto's bullpen in the near future.

• David Phelps is tentatively scheduled to resume throwing side sessions by the end of next week. Phelps joined the Blue Jays as a free agent this season while he continues to work his way back from last year's Tommy John surgery. He was throwing sides in Spring Training but the club felt he needed some additional down time before ramping things up for the year.

• Outfielder Dalton Pompey is scheduled to be evaluated by Toronto's medical staff on Saturday. Pompey has been out since the end of Spring Training because of a concussion, the third Pompey has experienced in his career, which has led to even more caution from the organization.

• Outfielder J.D. Davis has resumed running and taking live batting practice. Davis has been out since midway through camp because of a sprained right ankle. He is scheduled to be examined early next week and should be activated from the IL in the near future.

Quotable

"There's going to be something tomorrow, in their clubhouse, I'll tell you that much." -- Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo after taking a look at the pile of Rays-themed gifts he received from Rays manager Kevin Cash. The bag of goodies included Rays bobbleheads, Rays stuffed animals and other club paraphernalia.