MLB: Anxiety sidelines Blue Jays closer Roberto Osuna

Toronto Blue Jays closer Roberto Osuna said the reason he was unavailable to pitch Friday was that he is out of sorts mentally, feeling “anxious” and “weird.”

“I feel like I’m lost a little bit,” he said through an interpreter on Saturday, a day after the Kansas City Royals rallied for four runs in the ninth inning against three Toronto relievers to beat the Blue Jays 5-4.

“I feel great physically. It’s just more mentally. This has nothing to do with me being on the field. I feel great out there. It’s just when I’m not on the field.”

Osuna, 22, said he had never experienced this sensation before. Paddy Steinford, the Blue Jays’ mental performance coach, has been working with him to overcome his anxiety.

“We’re trying to find ways to make me feel better,” said Osuna, the youngest player in major league history to record 75 career saves. “But, to be honest, I just don’t know.”

Etc.

Texas put left-handed starter Martin Perez on the 10-day disabled list because of a broken bone at the tip of his right thumb suffered when he caught it in the hinge of a door in a hotel room in New York. . . . Oakland promoted its top prospect, infielder Franklin Barreto, from triple A and placed infielder Chad Pinder on the DL with a hamstring strain. Barreto, 21, started at second base Saturday and homered in his second at-bat against the White Sox. . . . Asdrubal Cabrera said he wanted to be traded after the New York Mets activated him and started him at second base rather than shortstop, his longtime position.