Blue Jays place Wells, Accardo on DL

May 10, 2008 - 10:19 PM CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- The struggling Toronto Blue Jays' offense will be without one of their top hitters for an extended period of time.

Toronto placed center fielder Vernon Wells on the 15-day disabled list Saturday with a fractured left wrist.

The Blue Jays also placed righthander Jeremy Accardo on the 15-day DL with tightness in his right forearm.

Wells, 29, is expected to miss six to eight weeks after injuring himself in the sixth inning of Toronto's 6-1 setback at Cleveland on Friday.

With a runner on first base and no outs in the sixth inning, Franklin Gutierrez's soft liner to center field was snared by Wells. While making the catch, Wells awkwardly bent his wrist as he hit the ground.

"I felt it when I rolled over," Wells said. "I was hoping for the best, but it got worse as the night went on. It is frustrating."

Wells is batting .281 with a team-best five home runs and 25 RBI for Toronto, which ranks 12th in the American League in runs scored.

"There is no use in complaining," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "We'll have to play ball with the players we have."

A season after leading the Blue Jays with 30 saves, Accardo has struggled in the bullpen in 2008. The righthander is 0-3 with a 6.57 ERA in 16 games this season.

To fill the roster spots, Toronto purchased the contract of righthander Armando Benitez and recalled infielder Joe Inglett both from Class AAA Syracuse.

Benitez has 289 saves over his 14-year career but struggled last season while playing for San Francisco and Florida. The 35-year-old went 2-8 with a 5.36 ERA in 55 games last year.

Inglett has played in 13 games for the the Blue Jays this season, hitting .303 with four RBI. The infielder was hitting .407 for Syracuse through 15 contests this season.