Toronto Blue Jays all-star Josh Donaldson said Saturday that he's close to returning to his usual third base position.
The 2015 American League most valuable player fielded some ground balls at Rogers Centre before the Jays' afternoon game against New York.
Donaldson was moved to the designated hitter role after experiencing what the team described as a "dead arm" on Thursday. His throws across the diamond were noticeably weaker than normal in the season-opening loss to the Yankees.
He served as DH on Friday night and was pencilled in that slot again Saturday.
"I feel real good," Donaldson said. "I feel very close. I have another day tomorrow throwing to some bases, doing my routine and really just looking forward to getting back out there."
Donaldson was limited in spring training by a shoulder issue and started just seven pre-season games at third base.
The 32-year-old said he tinkered with his throwing mechanics on Thursday but has been working on restoring his regular motion.
"The other day I was making an adjustment for what I had that day," he said. "But today I was throwing, yesterday I was throwing and I'm keeping it as normal as possible."
Donaldson hit 33 homers and drove in 78 runs over 113 games for the Blue Jays in 2017. He posted a .270 batting average last season.
He went 0 for 7 over the team's first two games this season.
