AL East Injury Notes: Yesavage, Springer, Holliday, Uceta
Injuries come frequently in April, but the AL East seems particularly snake-bitten to begin the season. The Blue Jays have had several key players go down since the start of Spring Training. The Orioles are missing most of their young offensive core. The Rays and Red Sox haven’t had any debilitating absences, but both squads have been without important pieces.
Here’s a rundown of injury updates from around the division, starting with the reigning AL champs…
Toronto
- Trey Yesavage (shoulder) will make another rehab start on Tuesday at Triple-A. The goal will be 75 pitches, to “let him feel that one more time,” manager John Schneider told reporters, including Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. Yesavage got up to 71 pitches in his outing with Buffalo on Wednesday.
- Jose Berrios (elbow) will make his next rehab start on Wednesday. He threw 38 pitches in his first outing on Thursday. The righty was knocked around for five earned runs over 2 2/3 innings. Fellow veteran Shane Bieber (forearm) threw a bullpen on Friday. He was recently moved to the 60-day IL. To round out the rotation injuries, Cody Ponce underwent ACL repair surgery and hopes to return for Spring Training in 2027. (h/t to Mitch Bannon of The Athletic for listing the injuries in one post)
- On the hitting side, George Springer (toe) is still hitting but has yet to progress to running. The same goes for Addison Barger (ankles), though he’s expected to start running next week. Springer is on track to make it back before Barger and might not need a rehab assignment, per Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.
Baltimore
- Jackson Holliday is set to be in the lineup for High-A Frederick this weekend, the team announced. The infielder is recovering from a hamate fracture. He was recently pulled off the rehab assignment after experiencing wrist soreness at Triple-A Norfolk. Holliday had scuffled to a .167/.239/.214 line in 11 games with the Tides. The second baseman’s absence has led to the emergence of Jeremiah Jackson. The 26-year-old utilityman had a 151 wRC+ heading into Friday’s action. That’s likely to go up after a go-ahead three-run homer against the Guardians.
- Adley Rutschman ran, hit, and caught a bullpen session on Friday, relays Jake Rill of MLB.com. The catcher is nursing an ankle injury. Rutschman is eligible to return on Tuesday, but he might need rehab games first.
- Also from Rill, outfielder Tyler O’Neill is not ready to return from the 7-day concussion IL. He’s been out since April 8. “Still has some boxes to check and go from there,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “Obviously, with a concussion, it’s very touch and go.”
Tampa Bay
- Right-hander Edwin Uceta is still experiencing issues with his shoulder, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. He’ll be shut down for the next few days. After a pair of scoreless frames to begin his rehab assignment, Uceta has allowed three earned runs on six hits over his last two appearances.
- Gavin Lux was trending toward a Triple-A return on Friday, Topkin noted yesterday. However, the former Dodger was not in the Durham lineup tonight. Lux is working his way back from a shoulder injury. He hasn’t played since Saturday after injuring his ankle.
Boston
- Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com ran through several health updates for the Red Sox. Right-hander Kutter Crawford hasn’t resumed throwing and might require an MRI following elbow soreness. He missed all of 2025 with knee and wrist injuries. Crawford gave up five earned runs over three innings of work in his first rehab outing on Saturday. He reported the elbow issue shortly after.
- Reliever Justin Slaten will not return from his oblique strain when first eligible on Monday. He’s just now resuming throwing, relayed manager Alex Cora. It’s unclear when Slaten will progress to a rehab assignment.
- Left-hander Patrick Sandoval is slated for another rehab start on Sunday at Triple-A. He’s coming back from UCL surgery. Sandoval has thrown 63 and 59 pitches in his first two rehab outings.
- Sandoval’s teammate with Worcester, Tyler Uberstine, was placed on the IL with shoulder soreness. The righty was promoted earlier this season when Johan Oviedo went down with an elbow strain. Uberstine allowed a run over 2 2/3 innings in his big-league debut, taking the loss against the Padres.
- Romy Gonzalez, the lone update on the hitting side, has yet to resume baseball activities. He underwent shoulder surgery in March. Gonzalez is on the 60-day IL and won’t be back until the end of May at the earliest.
Photo courtesy of John E. Sokolowski, Imagn Images
Blue Jays Place George Springer On 10-Day IL, Select Eloy Jimenez
The Blue Jays announced that George Springer has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to fracture in his left big toe. Eloy Jimenez‘s contract was selected from Triple-A in the corresponding move, as he’ll take Springer’s spot on the 26-man roster and an open spot on Toronto’s 40-man roster. Mike Rodriguez of Rompiendo Sports was the first to report that Jimenez would be Springer’s replacement, and multiple Jays beat writers reported this morning that Jimenez had a locker in Toronto’s clubhouse.
The IL placement is no surprise after Springer sustained the injury yesterday, fouling a ball off his foot during an at-bat in the third inning. Springer joins Alejandro Kirk (thumb surgery) and Addison Barger (ankle sprain) as other position players who have been sidelined since Opening Day, plus Anthony Santander is out until at least late July after undergoing shoulder surgery in February.
In more positive news, manager John Schneider told Sportsnet’s Hazel Mae and other reporters that Springer may not need more than the minimum 10 days to recover. The IL placement was something of an early-season precaution for a veteran player, as Schneider noted that “George has played through stuff a lot since he’s been here. I don’t want a toe to compromise anything else. He’s got one speed that he plays at, and we can weather the storm with him and other guys for now.”
The Jays figure to use multiple players in the DH role while Springer is out, and Jimenez is the designated hitter (batting seventh in the lineup) for today’s game with the Twins. This marks Jimenez’s first Major League game since Sept. 21, 2024 when Jimenez was playing with the Orioles, as the former Silver Slugger winner spent all of 2025 in the minors with the Rays and Blue Jays.
As it has become increasingly common for teams to sign star prospects to extensions prior to their MLB debuts, Jimenez was a trendsetter in this regard, as the White Sox inked him to a six-year, $43MM guarantee just prior to the 2019 season. At the time, it was the largest contract ever given to a prospect before his first big league game, and Jimenez’s 31-homer rookie season in 2019 and Silver Slugger performance in the abbreviated 2020 made it seem like the Sox had scored a bargain.
Unfortunately, injuries then took their toll, as Jimenez played in only 259 of a possible 486 games for Chicago over the 2021-23 seasons. Jimenez still posted strong numbers in 2022 when he was able to play, but his production dropped off on the whole, and he finished with a .238/.289/.336 slash line over 349 plate appearances with the Sox and Orioles in 2024, after Chicago dealt him to Baltimore at the trade deadline.
Jimenez didn’t hit much in the minors in 2025, and he has a modest .257/.372/.371 over 43 PA with Triple-A Buffalo this season. The 29-year-old did hit well in Spring Training, and also got a lot of work at first base — tellingly, the Jays listed Jimenez as a first baseman/DH in their official announcement today. This means that the Blue Jays could be comfortable using Jimenez at first base if Vladimir Guerrero Jr. gets a DH day or two during Springer’s absence.
George Springer Exits Game Due To Left Toe Fracture
Blue Jays designated hitter George Springer left today’s game against the Twins with a left toe fracture, the team announced. Facing Joe Ryan in the third inning, Springer fouled an 0-1 pitch off his left foot and briefly went down at the plate (video from Shi Davidi of Sportsnet). He finished the at-bat and grounded out to third, but he departed for Myles Straw when his turn came up in the 6th inning. Per manager John Schneider, initial X-rays revealed a “probable small fracture” in Springer’s left big toe (link via Hazel Mae of MLB International). The 36-year-old is currently getting a CT scan.
It’s not yet clear how long Springer will be absent, though an IL placement is surely a possibility. On the one hand, the fact that Springer was able to finish his at-bat is a positive sign. On the other hand, toe fractures have a range of outcomes depending on location and severity. Last year, the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts and the Mets’ Francisco Lindor sustained minor fractures in their second left and right pinky toes, respectively. Neither required an IL stint. However, Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove broke his left big toe in February 2023 and required a two-month absence before being activated in late April of that year. The exact nature of Springer’s fracture should be revealed in the next few days, as will the extent of his absence.
“The CT will confirm something in terms of a plan,” Schneider told reporters, including Keegan Matheson of MLB.com. “I know Georgie plays through a lot all the time. Fingers crossed, but we’ll see what this CT says.”
If he does need to miss time, it would yet mark another blow to the Blue Jays’ overall health. After injuries to Shane Bieber, Trey Yesavage, and other pitchers during Spring Training, the club recently saw Cody Ponce go down with a right ACL sprain, which ultimately required season-ending surgery. The offense has taken a couple of hits as well. Alejandro Kirk underwent thumb surgery this week and will be out for six weeks, while Addison Barger landed on the 10-day IL on Monday with a left ankle sprain.
Springer’s potential absence could benefit Davis Schneider and recent addition Tyler Fitzgerald in the immediate future. A Springer IL stint might be the opening Eloy Jimenez needs to return to the big leagues. The former White Sox slugger posted a 119 wRC+ in 45 plate appearances in the spring. He’s followed that up with a .281/.368/.406 slash line in 10 games at Triple-A. Calling up Jimenez would necessitate a 40-man roster move, but that’s likely to happen anyway. As Matheson notes, Jonatan Clase is the only position player left on the 40-man, and he’s also on the injured list.
Photo courtesy of John E. Sokolowski, Imagn Images
Bo Bichette Doesn’t Expect To Require Offseason Knee Surgery
Bo Bichette has played through a sprained PCL in his left knee during the World Series. He’s clearly physically limited but has picked up five hits (all singles) with three RBI in 18 trips to the plate.
Of course, Bichette’s focus for the next day or two will be fully on the World Series. He did address the injury before tonight’s Game 6, telling Ben-Nicholson Smith of Sportsnet that he does not expect he’ll need to undergo offseason surgery. Bichette suffered the injury in a collision at home plate with Yankees catcher Austin Wells on September 6. He was out of action for almost seven weeks before making his return for the Fall Classic.
Bichette would clearly still be on the injured list if this were the regular season. However, he has gotten to a point where he can hit and make routine defensive plays. The Jays moved him to second base while keeping Andrés Giménez at shortstop to slightly reduce his defensive workload. They used him as a designated hitter in Game 5 after George Springer tweaked his side. However, Springer has improbably returned for tonight’s game and is back at DH. Bichette heads out to the keystone again.
The 27-year-old infielder (28 in March) is days away from becoming a free agent for the first time in his career. He’s widely viewed as the second-best player in the class behind Kyle Tucker. The knee injury might add to the already present questions about how long he can be expected to stick at shortstop. There’ll be teams that prefer Bichette as a second baseman, but he’s an annual threat to lead the league in hits and is coming off a .311/.357/.483 batting line in the regular season.
Bichette spoke with Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic about his decision to play through the injury earlier this week. He acknowledged that he’s “not really expecting to make huge progress” in the healing process while he’s playing. Bichette nevertheless stated that he’d “risk it all” to win a World Series. He demurred on the free agency question this evening. Bichette admitted at today’s pregame media scrum that while he has thought about his future at times this season, he has “got a World Series to win” right now (video via TSN).
Blue Jays Notes: Springer, Bassitt, Yesavage
The World Series continues with Game 4 tonight after last night’s 18-inning marathon that ended with the Dodgers winning 6-5. However, veteran George Springer will not be in the starting lineup for the Blue Jays, though he will seemingly remain on the roster (link via Shi Davidi of Sportsnet). The 36-year-old left last night’s game with what was called “right side discomfort” and underwent an MRI today. “MRI showed that he’s hour-to-hour, day-to-day,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider, “so just see how he kind of navigates the next couple hours.” With Springer out of the lineup, Bo Bichette will serve as DH and bat third.
Toronto will certainly hope that Springer can continue to appear in the World Series, even if in a diminished role. He enjoyed a resurgent season in 2025, as he batted .309/.399/.560 with a 166 wRC+ in 140 games as Toronto’s DH. After posting a roughly league-average output over 2023-24, he increased his walk rate from 9.8% to 11.8% and, more importantly, struck the ball with much more authority on his way to a career-high 46.7% hard-hit rate. The result was a season worth 5.2 fWAR, which stands as Springer’s highest total since his 2019 season with the Astros and the best season of his Blue Jays tenure.
Moving to the pitching side of things, Schneider said that right-hander Chris Bassitt will be available out of the bullpen tonight (link via Mitch Bannon of the Athletic). If he pitches, it would be the first time in his career that he has pitched on consecutive days. Bassitt, 36, started all but one of his 32 appearances for Toronto this year. Though he posted a solid 3.96 ERA along with a respectable 22.6% strikeout rate and a 7.1% walk rate in 170 1/3 regular-season innings, the team has used him as a reliever in the postseason. Bassitt was the fourth pitcher out of Toronto’s bullpen in Game 3, throwing just eight pitches. Indeed, Schneider noted that every one of his relievers is available for tonight’s game except for Eric Lauer, who pitched 4 2/3 innings last night (link via Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet).
Looking ahead slightly, rookie right-hander Trey Yesavage is lined up to start Game 5 tomorrow night (link via Davidi). The 22-year-old began the season at the Single-A level but rode an outstanding strikeout rate to reach the big-league rotation by the end of the year, making three regular-season starts plus four more so far in the postseason. He most recently started Game 1 of the World Series, allowing two earned runs in four innings in an eventual Blue Jays victory, and would be on normal rest for a Game 5 start.
George Springer Undergoes MRI For Right Side Discomfort
George Springer left the Blue Jays’ crushing Game 3 loss with what appeared to be a right side injury. Toronto’s leadoff man was leading off the seventh inning and fouled off the first pitch from Justin Wrobleski, then winced and grabbed for his lower right side. After unsuccessfully trying to walk it off, he called for the trainer and was immediately lifted from the game. Manager John Schneider provided details to reporters (including Shi Davidi of Sportsnet) following the 18-inning epic about Springer’s status, revealing he was suffering from “right side discomfort” and had already been sent for an MRI, which the club was awaiting results on.
The possibility of a side injury raises fears about an oblique strain that would certainly put an end to Springer’s series. Even minor oblique strains are an almost automatic injured list stint — usually requiring upwards of a month on the shelf. Springer was able to play through knee discomfort after being hit with a pitch in Game 5 of the ALCS. An oblique injury would be essentially impossible to overcome, as they inhibit a hitter’s ability to rotate through their swing.
Losing Springer would be a massive blow to Toronto’s chances of coming back to pull off an upset in the series. He has four homers and six doubles across 14 postseason contests. None was bigger than the go-ahead, three-run shot off Eduard Bazardo to knock off the Mariners in Game 7 of the Championship Series. Springer is hitting .246/.323/.561 in October. That follows up a resurgent regular season in which he hit .309/.399/.560 with 32 home runs, his best year since 2019.
Ty France came off the bench to work as the designated hitter for last night’s game. It’s unlikely that’d be the plan for the remainder of the Series if Springer is sidelined. Bo Bichette would presumably move to the DH spot for the final few games, which would draw Isiah Kiner-Falefa back in at second base for defensive purposes. Bichette has been limited in his first game action since spraining his knee in early September. He did not start Game 2 and was lifted for Kiner-Falefa as a pinch-runner/defensive substitute in the seventh inning. Bichette has picked up where he’d left off at the plate, though, going 3-7 with a walk and a strikeout in the series.
If Springer cannot return, the Jays would petition MLB to replace him on the roster. Joey Loperfido, who replaced the injured Anthony Santander on the ALCS roster, was dropped from the World Series roster with Bichette and France activated from injury. He’d be the obvious choice to return to the roster in Springer’s place.
Blue Jays Notes: Springer, Bichette, Bullpen
The Blue Jays are staring down elimination as they head back to Toronto following a tough loss to the Mariners in Game 5 of the ALCS yesterday. Manager John Schneider spoke to reporters this evening about the health status of a couple of key players, as well as the club’s pitching plans headed into the final games of the series.
Perhaps the most pressing update is the one regarding veteran slugger George Springer. The 36-year-old enjoyed a career year at the plate this season as he slashed .309/.399/.560 with 32 home runs and 27 doubles. Springer has continued his strong performance into the postseason, with eight extra-base hits in nine games so far this October. That hot streak was put at risk last night when Springer was hit in the right knee by a pitch.
Initial x-rays came back negative, fortunately, and today Schneider offered more good news to reporters (including Shi Davidi of Sportsnet) when he revealed that a follow-up CT scan confirmed no fracture. Springer was set to undergo additional treatment today, but it seems as though he’s likely to be back in the lineup for Game 6. As noted by MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson, Schneider told reporters he was “hopeful and optimistic” that Springer would be in the lineup for tomorrow’s game, and added that Schneider intends to put Springer in the game as long as Springer himself says he’s ready to play.
The future is less clear for star shortstop Bo Bichette. Bichette has been sidelined since the regular season due to a PCL sprain, and his availability in the event that the Jays manage to win their next two games and advance to face the Dodgers in the World Series remains up in the air. Schneider indicated to reporters (including Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet) that Bichette has increased his running volume on the field and is “making progress” with his swing but that he’s not yet tried to run the bases after he limped off the field when he tried to do so prior to the ALCS. Even in spite of this injury, Bichette’s had a strong bounce back year ahead of free agency with a .311/.357/.483 slash line in 139 games.
Of course, if Bichette is going to even have a chance to make it back for the World Series, the Jays will need to advance there. To that end, Schneider indicated to reporters (including Mitch Bannon of The Athletic) that everyone on the pitching staff who is “physically available” will be able to pitch tomorrow. That likely rules out Kevin Gausman after he pitched 5 2/3 innings of work yesterday, but could mean that every other pitcher on the roster is available. Bannon specifically highlights that veteran right-hander Max Scherzer will be available for tomorrow’s game after his 87-pitch start in Game 4 of the series on Thursday. Trey Yesavage is poised to start tomorrow’s game opposite right-hander Logan Gilbert.
Using Scherzer and Shane Bieber in tomorrow’s game would be a risky move for the Blue Jays, as it would leave them without anyone to start in Game 7 of the series on Monday if they make it that far. Of course, saving an arm for Game 7 would do little for the Blue Jays if they were to get eliminated in Game 6. In a win-or-go-home game, it’s sensible to win that night’s game at all costs and worry about the consequences of that later. That’s the plan the Mariners used in Game 5 of the ALDS against the Tigers, when they used George Kirby, Gilbert, and Luis Castillo in a 15-inning affair to leave them with no option but to start Bryce Miller in Game 1 of the ALCS against Toronto.
X-Rays Negative On George Springer’s Right Knee After HBP
The Blue Jays’ 6-2 loss to the Mariners in Game 5 of the ALCS puts the Jays down 3-2 in the series, and in must-win mode heading into Game 6 in Toronto on Sunday. With such a critical game coming up, the Jays are also facing an injury question to one of their best hitters, as George Springer was removed from Game 5 of the ALCS after being hit in the right knee by a Bryan Woo fastball.
Facing Woo in the seventh inning, Springer was drilled directly on the right kneecap by the pitch, leaving the designated hitter down for several minutes in obvious pain. Springer eventually got up and gingerly walked to first base while trying to lightly jog to test his knee, but it was clear that Springer could barely walk properly (let alone run) and Joey Loperfido took over as a pinch-runner.
Talking to the Canadian Press and other media post-game, Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Springer was dealing with a right knee contusion and that x-rays were negative. Springer is day-to-day for now, and a return for Game 6 wasn’t ruled out. As Schneider put it, “he’ll have to really, really be hurting to not be in the lineup on Sunday.”
The off-day before Game 6 will help Springer’s chances of being ready, yet it is hard to imagine that he would be 100 percent given the clear discomfort all over Springer’s face in the aftermath of the hit-by-pitch. Operating as a DH means that Springer can limit his involvement solely to hitting, yet his ability to run is now a clear question mark going into the biggest game of the Jays’ season.
Since the injury appears to be just day-to-day, it can be assumed the Blue Jays aren’t considering removing Springer from the ALCS roster. Such a move would eliminate Springer from inclusion for the Jays’ potential World Series roster, and while just getting past the Mariners is Toronto’s more immediate concern, the club isn’t going to end Springer’s season unless he is entirely compromised physically.
Springer’s comeback year has been arguably the key element to the Jays’ success in 2025. It seemed like Springer was on the decline after underwhelming performances in both 2023-24, but he roared back to hit .309/.399/.560 with 32 home runs over 586 plate appearances. Springer’s 166 wRC+ was both the highest of his 12-year big league career, and the third-highest mark in all of baseball this season (behind just Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani). The output has continued in the postseason, as Springer has hit .256/.318/.615 with three homers in 44 PA during the Blue Jays’ playoff run.
Blue Jays Reinstate George Springer From Injured List
The Blue Jays announced that George Springer has been activated from the seven-day injured list for concussion-related injuries. Outfielder Joey Loperfido was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo in the corresponding move.
Springer last played on July 28, when a wayward pitch from the Orioles’ Kade Strowd caught the Toronto slugger on the earflap of his helmet. Springer was removed from the game and was officially placed on the concussion IL a few days later, to give him some extended time to recover. A clean slate of tests earlier this week paved the way for Springer to start a Triple-A rehab assignment, and he’ll now join the Jays lineup after two games in Buffalo.
After posting underwhelming numbers in both 2023 and 2024, it seemed as though Springer was hitting a decline phase as he entered his age-35 season. Instead, he has bounced back with one of the best seasons of his 12-year career, hitting .291/.383/.506 with 18 home runs over 408 plate appearances. Only eight qualified hitters in baseball (including teammate Vladimir Guerrero Jr.) have a better wRC+ than Springer’s 148 figure.
One element to this turn-around may be Springer’s increased usage as a designated hitter, as he has already set a new career high for DH days by appearing 52 times at the position, as opposed to 45 appearances as an outfielder. It is perhaps noteworthy that Springer didn’t see any action in the outfield during his two rehab games, and it could hint that the Blue Jays will continue to lean towards using the veteran primarily as a DH down the stretch in order to keep him fresh. In any case, having Springer back in any capacity is naturally a big help to a Toronto club trying to secure its first division title since 2015.
Loperfido was the odd man out of the roster mix with Springer back, likely just because Loperfido has minor league options remaining. Performance-wise, Loperfido was very impressive since being called up in July, delivering a .358/.409/.506 slash line over 89 plate appearances. It seems likely that Loperfido will be back up at least by September 1 when the rosters expand, if another injury doesn’t earn him a quicker ticket back to the Jays’ active roster.
Blue Jays Notes: Shapiro, Bichette, Schneider, Springer, Manoah
Mark Shapiro is in the midst of his tenth season as the Blue Jays’ president and CEO, and his current five-year contract is up after the conclusion of the 2025 campaign. Speaking with The Athletic’s Mitch Bannon and other reporters earlier this week, Shapiro didn’t give any updates on any extension talks, or if any negotiations were even ongoing. However, Shapiro firmly stated “I want to remain here, and I can also say that both Edward and Tony have been reciprocal in that desire,” referring to Rogers Communications chairman Edward Rogers and CEO Tony Staffieri.
It is worth noting that when Shapiro’s previous five-year deal expired following the 2020 campaign, a new extension wasn’t reached until January 2021. The Jays’ front office operated more or less normally during this interim period, or as “normally” as could be expected since the pandemic was still a gigantic factor during the 2020-21 offseason (particularly since the Blue Jays couldn’t play in Toronto until the end of July 2021). It would seem like an unofficial agreement was in place for Shapiro’s return and things just weren’t formalized until that January, so if history repeats itself, we might not receive public confirmation of a new contract until some time after the 2025 season is over.
While Shapiro and GM Ross Atkins have received plenty of criticism over their decade in charge of the franchise, the fan angst that reached a peak after the Jays’ dismal 2024 season has now been quieted by Toronto’s huge turn-around in 2025. The Blue Jays have the second-best record in baseball and a five-game lead in the AL East as we reach mid-August. Despite postseason appearances in 2020, 2022, and 2023, the Jays haven’t won a playoff game (let alone a series) since reaching the 2016 ALCS in the first year of the Shapiro/Atkins tenure.
Given the Jays’ current success on the field and the franchise-building projects Shapiro has overseen (i.e. major renovations to both Rogers Centre and the Blue Jays’ Spring Training complex) in the last decade, it would certainly seem like the executive is in good standing to receive another contract. The same could be said of John Schneider since the manager is in the final guaranteed year of his contract, and while Shapiro deferred comment on any extension talks, he did praise Schneider’s work over his three-plus years leading the dugout.
Likewise, Shapiro didn’t go into detail over any plans to retain impending free agent Bo Bichette, other than to say “I’m confident that, at the right time, we’ll make an effort.” This likely means the Blue Jays will wait until after the season, as Shapiro didn’t want to draw any focus away from Bichette’s on-field efforts. After an injury-marred down year in 2024, Bichette has looked much more like his old self, hitting .294/.336/.463 with 16 homers over 538 plate appearances (for a 122 wRC+).
Speaking of returns to form, George Springer‘s resurgence has been one of the keys to the Jays’ season, and the veteran looks to be close to an activation off the concussion-related injured list. Springer hasn’t played since he was hit in the head by a pitch on July 28, but he has now cleared concussion protocols and returned to action in a minor league rehab game today.
Springer was 1-for-2 with a walk and a double for Triple-A Buffalo, acting as the Bisons’ designated hitter. Postgame, Springer told reporters (including Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News) that he isn’t sure if he’ll remain for another rehab game on Friday, perhaps to play the outfield as the final step in the recovery process.
Things didn’t go as smoothly for Alek Manoah in his first Triple-A rehab game on Wednesday, as the starter allowed three runs on three hits and two walks over 1 2/3 innings and 49 pitches. Bannon writes that the plan was for Manoah to toss 70-75 pitches over as many as five innings, except the outing had to be cut short due to the righty’s struggles.
It has been almost three years since Manoah was a viable force in the Blue Jays’ rotation, as he struggled badly in 2023 and his hopes at a bounce-back year were halted by a Tommy John surgery in June 2024. Over four rehab starts at four different minor league levels, Manoah has an 11.57 ERA and more walks (eight) than strikeouts (six) in seven total innings.
Until his control or his overall results improve, it is hard to see Manoah being called up for a significant role for a team battling for a division title. A return to the rotation might not be necessary since deadline trade acquisition Shane Bieber is first in line as the proverbial sixth starter, but even bringing Manoah back as a reliever is a risk if he can’t harness his pitches.