KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Scott Rolen, who fractured his right middle finger in spring training, was activated Friday from the disabled list by the Toronto Blue Jays and was in the lineup at third base against the Kansas City Royals.
Rolen, who was acquired in a Jan. 14 trade with St. Louis for Troy Glaus, was 0-for-9 in three games on a rehabilitation assignment with Class A Dunedin.
"I had a pretty exciting rehab stint, 0-for-9 with an error and they probably could have given me two that inning, actually," Rolen said, jokingly. "I think if they were in a Florida State pennant race, they would've been happy to see me go. I was killing them."
Rolen hurt the finger March 23 in a fielding drill and had surgery to implant a pin, then another surgery to remove it.
"We don't expect him to come in and carry the team," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "It's unfair to him to think he's going to come in and save the day. He's just got to fit in and do his thing. We need him. He's anxious to get going."
The Blue Jays had lost five straight and ranked 12th in the American League with a .369 slugging percentage entering Friday. Rolen has 261 home runs and 1,012 RBI in 11-plus seasons. He hit .345 with a homer and three doubles in 29 at-bats in spring training before the injury.
"I still have a pretty significant bone bruise on the end of it. I feel it when I throw and I feel it when I hit," Rolen said. "I think my options are I can sit for a month and do nothing and wait for that to heal or I can go play. I think it's time to play."
To make roster space for Rolen, the Blue Jays optioned rookie catcher Robinson Diaz to Triple-A Syracuse in the International League.
