Blue Jays manager John Farrell plans to start J.P. Arencibia just two of every three games until he gets over his sore left thumb.

Arencibia can play with the ailment, but it's affected him at the plate, as he has just two hits in his last 25 at-bats since suffering the injury. Jose Molina will catch at least one game per series, with Farrell trying to match him up with Brandon Morrow and Zach Stewart when possible.

J.P. Arencibia tripled in both Blue Jays runs in his return to the lineup Thursday against the Royals.

Arencibia didn't play yesterday because of a bruised thumb. The triple gave him eight RBI in his last five games, even though he has just four hits in that span.

J.P. Arencibia (thumb) is back in the starting lineup for Thursday's game against the Royals.

Arencibia missed the previous two games with a bruised left thumb. He'll bat fifth Thursday against right-hander Luke Hochevar.

J.P. Arencibia (thumb) is expected to return Thursday.

Arencibia bruised his thumb during Tuesday's game and will not play Wednesday night. The 25-year-old has a .798 OPS, 10 homers and 32 RBI on the young season.

J.P. Arencibia (thumb) went 2-for-4 with an RBI in his return to the starting lineup Sunday.

Arencibia was held out of Saturday's action due to a minor left thumb injury. The 25-year-old has eight homers and 25 RBI this season with a rising .813 OPS.

J.P. Arencibia returned to action on Sunday May 29.

J.P. Arencibia was held out of Saturday's lineup due to a left thumb injury.

It doesn't sound like anything to worry about. Arencibia, who has eight home runs on the season, could be back in the lineup on Sunday.

J.P. Arencibia has begun transitioning into the everyday catcher role for the Blue Jays.

Jose Molina was playing two of every five games at the outset of the season, but he's started just three of the last 16, and that figures to be roughly what the ratio will be going forward. Arencibia caught Brandon Morrow for the first time Thursday and has recently started to catch Kyle Drabek, as well. "We stated about 10 days or so ago that Jose would take more of a traditional backup type role," manager John Farrell said Thursday. "Just the way the schedule falls it gives us a situation where J.P. has got Brandon tonight. J.P. has clearly shown he has the ability to handle every guy on our staff and I think Brandon is comfortable with J.P. behind the plate as well." It's obviously great news for owners of Arencibia, who is batting just .244 but who trails only Russell Martin among catchers with his eight home runs.

J.P. Arencibia is not in the Blue Jays' lineup Wednesday afternoon against the Yankees.

John Farrell gives him the day off after the night game. Jose Molina will start behind the plate Wednesday and bat fifth against right-hander Freddy Garcia.

J.P. Arencibia went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Toronto's loss to the Astros on Sunday.

The bomb was his second in three games, and fourth of the month. Now batting .244 with eight home runs and 19 RBI through his first 123 at-bats, Arencibia is looking poised to be a mixed-league option all year long.

J.P. Arencibia homered, doubled and drove in three runs Saturday versus the Twins.

Arencibia had been in a 1-for-20 slump that dropped his average to .220. He's basically played pretty much as expected: he's up to six homers and 15 RBI, making him a useful fantasy catcher. However, his batting average figures to stay low.

J.P. Arencibia has four home runs this season despite playing in only 18 games.

Arencibia is striking out often, but he boasts a stellar .536 slugging percentage and has driven in nine runs. The youngster should have good power numbers all year.

J.P. Arencibia was the only Blue Jay to record multiple hits in Toronto's loss to the Red Sox on Sunday.

Toronto's heralded young catcher is now hitting .308 through his first 39 at-bats, and has posted four multi-hit games. With two home runs and six RBI, he's at least living up to the hype through two weeks of action.

J.P. Arencibia went 3-for-4 with a double and his first home run of the spring.

He drove in three runs and scored a pair. It's been a poor spring for the 25-year-old, as his three-hit night only propelled his average to .200. He's slated for most of the playing time behind the dish for the Jays this season, though Jose Molina is expected to get a few starts per week. Arencibia is a 20-homer threat at catcher, but you'll have to deal with a lowly batting average.

Jays manager John Farrell indicated that Jose Molina would catch the starts of Brandon Morrow and Kyle Drabek at the beginning of the season.

With the caveat that Drabek needs to make the team first. However, that seems to be nearly a given. Arencibia still projects as the Jays' starting catcher despite his poor spring, but he's not going to find much of a rhythm while catching three out of every five or six days.

J.P. Arencibia added nine pounds of muscle this offseason, and has been impressing coaches and teammates with his work ethic.

Expected to share catching duties with veteran Jose Molina, Arencibia already has experience catching most of the Jays' rotation when they played together in the minors. But the reigning Pacific Coast League MVP is taking nothing for granted, as he arrives at camp every morning before 7:00 a.m. and is always one of the last people to leave.

Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos says J.P. Arencibia "has nothing more to prove" in the minor leagues.

"We really don't want to get in the way of J.P. Arencibia because we do believe that he's an important component of this team," Anthopoulos said. "He has nothing more to prove down [in the minors]. He needs to get an opportunity to play up here and we might have to let him live through some struggles early on." Arencibia posted a .985 OPS with 32 home runs while winning the Pacific Coast League MVP last season. Though the numbers were inflated by the launching pad in Las Vegas, he has legit power potential and will be an interesting sleeper in fantasy drafts.

The Blue Jays starting catching job is considered J.P. Arencibia's to lose.

John Buck left for a lucrative contract with the Marlins and Alex Anthopoulos elected against adding another catcher this winter, so the door is wide open for Arencibia to make his mark in 2011. The 25-year old made waves by swatting two home runs in his major league debut last August, but struggled thereafter and was eventually sent down. "Really I'm not worried about the outside stuff," says Arencibia. "If I take care of my business then, whatever they decide, that's their decision." Arencibia could struggle to maintain a high batting average, but his power potential is worth watching in fantasy leagues.

Blue Jays recalled C J.P. Arencibia from Triple-A Las Vegas.

Arencibia, of course, was 4-for-5 with two homers in a thrilling major league debut last month, however he went just 1-for-15 before being sent back to the minors. He's almost certainly the catcher of the future in Toronto, but he'll have to share playing time with John Buck and Jose Molina for now.

Blue Jays optioned C J.P. Arencibia to Triple-A Las Vegas.

The Jays have wisely tempered their excitement about the young power-hitting catcher. Sure, Arencibia is an exciting guy to watch in what has been a disappointing year for Toronto fans, but the 24-year-old is better off seeing regular playing time down on the farm. John Buck is expected return from the disabled list and take over starting catcher duties for the Jays on Friday.