The Toronto Blue Jays expect to be without the services of Joaquin Benoit indefinitely, as manager John Gibbons told reporters on Tuesday that the veteran reliever has a torn left calf. Benoit spoke to reporters later in the afternoon and said the rough estimate for his return could be 2-3 weeks.

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Benoit suffered the injury on Monday night after a bench-clearing melee with the New York Yankees and limped into the dugout in discomfort. He was later spotted leaving the ballpark on crutches. The team has called up right-handed reliever Chris Smith and added him to the bullpen for their opener against Baltimore at the Rogers Centre.

Benoit was the Jays' best reliever since July's trade deadline, with a 0.38 ERA in 25 appearances. He allowed just one run over that span - a home run surrendered to David Ortiz at the Rogers Centre in an 11-8 loss to Boston on September 11.

Chisholm: Loss of Benoit detrimental to Blue Jays

MLB.com Blue Jays reporter Gregor Chisholm joins Mike Hogan on TSN 1050 Today to discuss how the Jays may adjust to potential injuries, what was behind last night's brawl with the Yankees, and if home-field advantage matters between the Jays and Orioles.

 

The Blue Jays will also be without the second baseman Devon Travis tonight, with Ezequiel Carrera taking his spot at leadoff. Travis has a sore shoulder and is "day-to-day" with no immediate timetable on his return.

"I aggravated it, initially, during that little scrum," Travis told reporters on Tuesday. "I probably should have used my right arm and not my left.

"I kind of got it caught up in there and the swing I took was a little reminiscent of the one I took last year." 

Travis is hitting .299 this season with 10 home runs and 49 RBI.