Blue Jays place Cecil on 15-day disabled list, Lawrie out with swollen hand

Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Brett Lawrie sits in the dugout with his hand wrapped after leaving the game after he was hit by a fourth-inning pitch during a baseball game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in New York, Wednesday, June 18, 2014. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

NEW YORK -- The Toronto Blue Jays placed left-handed reliever Brett Cecil on the 15-day disabled list Thursday with a strained left groin and recalled right-hander Steve Delabar from Triple-A Buffalo.

Delabar, just sent down Tuesday, and Cecil were both All-Stars last season.

In other news, infielder Brett Lawrie was out of the lineup against the New York Yankees after getting hit on the back of his left hand by a pitch Wednesday night. X-rays were negative but manager John Gibbons said Lawrie's hand was swollen and he couldn't grip a bat.

"He needs a day," Gibbons said.

Juan Francisco played third base, with Steve Tolleson at second. Lawrie, hitting .237 with 11 homers and 37 RBIs, has been starting in both spots this season.

Designated hitter Adam Lind remained out with a bruised right foot. Gibbons hopes Lawrie and Lind will be available this weekend in Cincinnati.

Cecil left Friday's game in Baltimore with groin tightness and rested for a few days before returning to the mound Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium. He got two outs but walked in a run and gave up a bases-loaded triple to Brian McCann.

Gibbons said Cecil's groin didn't feel great during his outing. The reliever is 0-3 with a 3.76 ERA and three saves in 32 appearances.

In addition, the Blue Jays announced that minor league lefty Ricky Romero had season-ending surgery on his left knee to clean out quadriceps tendon inflammation. The operation was performed Tuesday by Dr. Neal Attrache in Los Angeles, and Romero is expected to need about six months to recover.

Drafted sixth overall in 2005, the 29-year-old Romero was a major league All-Star three years ago, when he went 15-11 with a 2.92 ERA for the Blue Jays. But he has struggled since then and spent this season at Triple-A, going 0-3 with a 5.50 ERA in nine starts.