Toronto Blue Jays pitcher A.J. Burnett was placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday, retroactive to June 13.

Burnett, 30, hasn't pitched since last Tuesday, when he strained his right shoulder with two out in the fifth inning of a 3-2 road loss to the San Francisco Giants.
 
He is eligible to come off the DL on June 28.

A.J. Burnett leaves with Jays trainer George Poulis in last Tuesday's loss.
(Jeff Chiu/Associated Press)

"All indications are that it is not [too serious]," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "But any time you are a little stiff or a little sore, you have got to get rid of that before you go back out there." 

"Err on the side of caution," added Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi.

Burnett is 5-6 this season with a 4.00 earned-run average and two complete games in 14 starts.

The hard-throwing right-hander has struck out 100 batters and walked 40 in 90 innings pitched.

Burnett, who has a history of arm problems, made only 21 starts for Toronto last season because of nagging scar tissue on his right elbow.

He opened the season on the DL and was activated for two starts before being returned to the DL until June 22.

"We don't think it's any big deal," Gibbons said. "You just want to be sure is all."

Burnett is 64-64 overall with a 3.78 ERA, 18 complete games and nine shutouts in 169 games (166 starts) over nine MLB seasons for the Florida Marlins and Blue Jays.

Toronto signed him to a five-year, free-agent contract worth $55 million US on Dec. 12, 2005.

Taubenheim returns

Pitcher Ty Taubenheim was recalled Tuesday from the triple-A Syracuse SkyChiefs to replace Burnett on Toronto's roster and is expected to start Saturday versus the Colorado Rockies.

The 24-year-old right-hander started seven of 12 games for Toronto last season, going 1-5 with 4.89 ERA.

"He pitched OK," Gibbons said. "We liked everything about him out there.

"We figured it was a matter of time this year before he came up and helped us out."

With files from the Canadian Press