Gold Glove second baseman Andres Gimenez placed on injury list as Blue Jays look to salvage road trip in Seattle

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As the Blue Jays look to find some road magic in Seattle with a three-game series agains the Mariners starting Friday night, they’ll be doing so without their best defensive infielder.

The team announced that second baseman Andres Gimenez has been placed on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to May 8) with what is being described as a right quad strain. In his place the team has activated infielder Michal Stefanic, who has been recalled from the triple-A Buffalo Bisons.

Gimenez suffered the injury when trying to run out an infield single on Wednesday in Anaheim in a game against the Los Angeles Angels. On Thursday, Jays manager John Schneider listed Gimenez as day-to-day after an MRI revealed no significant injury.

In another transaction, the Jays have designated right-handed reliever Dillon Tate for assignment.

The Jays will have their hands full against the Mariners in the three-game weekend series. With an 8-2 run over their past 10 games, the M’s sit atop the American League West standings with a record of 22-14. The only AL team with a better mark is the Detroit Tigers at 25-13.

The Jays, meanwhile, are hoping to build off of an 8-5 win in Anaheim on Thursday night to avoid getting swept in the three-game series against the Angels. Their modest 6-12 road record has been a concern of late, after the team went 1-5 in its previous set of away contests with three games each against the Yankees and Astros.

The series will mark the final meeting of the season against the Astros, who took two of three from the Jays at the Rogers Centre earlier in the season. Veteran Kevin Gausman was slated to start on Friday followed by Bowden Francis on Saturday and Jose Urena in the Sunday finale.

With Gimenez out, Ernie Clement was schedule to get the start at second base for Friday’s meeting at T-Mobile Park while Addison Barger gets the assignment at third.