Blue Jays outfielder George Springer has undergone surgery to remove a bone spur from his right elbow, Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic reports. Springer is expected to be ready in time for spring training next year.
Into the second year of a six-year, $150MM deal signed in 2021, Springer had another successful season, slashing .267/.342/.472 with 25 home runs and grading out as slightly above average in center, earning one Outs Above Average. It earned Springer his fourth trip to the All Star game this summer, and his first as a Blue Jay.
There had been plenty of uncertainty around Springer heading into the off-season, given the way his season ended. The 32-year-old was carted off the field during the Jays wildcard loss to the Mariners after colliding with teammate Bo Bichette while pursuing a fly ball. Earlier in the off-season, Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said Springer sustained a concussion and a strained left shoulder in that collision, so given this surgery was on his right elbow it appears this is unrelated.
The injury concerns do raise question marks over Springer’s future in center though. While he remained slightly above average in 2022, his numbers are declining as his Outs Above Average dropped from three to one this year, and Defensive Runs Saved dropped to -4 from -1 in 2021. Given Springer’s injury and the fact 2023 will be his age-33 season, it’s fair to wonder if the Jays may opt to shift him to a corner spot or DH him more frequently and seek an external upgrade in center. Springer remains an elite player though, and with $96.7MM and four years remaining on his contract, Toronto will be motivated to give his body the best chance to hold up over the life of that deal.
He already DHs like half of the games he plays in anyway. Plus they have too much of a position player logjam. they need him in center
He needs to be in a corner. Nimmo needs to be there CF moving forward.
Indeed, Nimmo would give them a lefty bat and moving Springer to a corner could mean a potentially healthier season for him and allow for the trade of Gurriel/Hernandez for pitching help.
Obviously though, Nimmo will be on many a teams wish list.
I absolutely love the idea of Nimmo in the lineup in the next couple of years. And if for some reason his market is tame and he falls to the $80m or under range, I’m all over it. But I’m really hesitant to create too much roster rigidity with aging players on big guarantees, and I think Nimmo’s going to have a big market.
Alternatively, I was reading the Milwaukee offseason stuff and see Frelick and Wiemer (maybe even Turang if he doesn’t have a spot on the infield) closing in on the majors as potential CF with Chourio as the super prospect behind them. I wonder if it might make Garrett Mitchell available. He gets some Nimmo comps and had success in his first major league look. At the moment, he might profile as a platoon guy which would still allow Springer some part time duty in CF. Obviously the Brewers are looking to have young major leaguers like him to manage their payroll situation, but as part of a multi-player trade like Kirk or Moreno for Woodruff or Burnes as headlining pieces, I think Milwaukee is deep enough in young CF talent to be able to include him.
Nimmo would be nice but is going to be in high demand and overpaid
with what money? they’re going to need to extend Guerrero or Bichette soon or else they won’t be keeping them
This is wrong.
He DH’ed 40 of the 133 games he played this year.
Not seeing where this liability in the OF is that I hear so many talk about…How many errors did he make last year?
Errors? There are certainly much better ways to evaluate defensive ability than fielding %.
Oh give me a freaking break! Another poor sap who has never played the game. If you ever did play, you would know that ERRORS KILL!!!!!!!
Not getting to balls that have a 75% catch probability which directly lead to your team being eliminated from postseason play also kill!!!
75% catch probability? Says who? How do you quantify “catch probability?” How many of those did he miss?
It’s simply just exit angle off the bat with exit speed. That Crawford hit is caught at that rate.
Angle and exit speed…Ok gotcha…I understand those two metrics in and of themselves….But the rest of the equation/algorithm that goes into quantifying that is based off of A.I. guess work…You can’t possibly quantify such an intangible as “catch probability.” I have been seeing that thrown around for about 15 years now and it has been bogus from the start.
Their “catch probability” probably has a true margin of error of at least 20%+..You can only discern such things by the naked eye.
Not only is he absolutely not a liability in the field, he was about to make the greatest postseason catch in Jays history before Bo the wandering infielder got in the way. Now all everyone talks about is moving Springer to right field.
Had a play happen like that in HS. Game for the league title. I was in CF, ball hit between me and the SS in semi- no man’s land but I called for it the whole time…He came backpeddling into me and the ball dropped. I got blamed of course.
I’ve noticed this a lot in the last few years where infielders have ranged way too far out into the outfield. I strongly suspect it’s because of the increase in unorthodox shifts because it erodes a fielders sense of where his space is. Especially when the players positioning is changed pitch-to-pitch. Given that the Jays do more shifting than any other team in the majors, I’m surprised we don’t see this happen more with Bo or others.
I’m sure you did.
Is Gomer your real name? It is right? It’s ok Gomer…We friends boy…
Thats where the problem lies. Him being in CF meant he had to make the greatest catch in their postseason history. A good defensive CF turns it into a boring catch.
The proponents of getting Springer out of CF aren’t necessarily thinking he’s a particular liability defensively. When you watch, Springer just looks like a guy who is being beaten up by the game. He winces on every throw, falls down when he swings. It’s more about preserving his health and availability to the team. Certainly getting rid of the bone spurs in the elbow should help him be able to throw the ball again, but you can’t blame us for wanting a backup plan when he looks to be squarely in the age related decline years.
I have not seen such a decline in his defense. If he is that banged up then he will have a hard time everywhere. Including at the plate. Hope he goes to Nepal and gets the Dr. Strange treatment.
I think you’re right that RF isn’t necessarily going to be kinder to his body. Especially his elbow and shoulder. I think that as Blue Jay fans who see that he can be a real boost to the lineup when he’s available but also see how close to being unavailable he always seems to be, we’re looking for any way to preserve his availability in the lineup. Even if it means paying CF prices for a DH. Still better in year three of the contract than similar ones given to thirty something outfielders like Cespedes, Upton, Fowler, Cain.
Kam, sheesh, please don’t use Upton as any kind of benchmark haha He was very painful to watch with the Halos and I extended him every morsel of my patience..I honestly had no idea Springer was that BANGED UP! Does not seem normal for a guy like him. I think people are jumping the gun a bit.
Haha. Yeah. But it’s not like it went any worse than those other ones I mentioned. In fact , I’m finding it difficult to think of any of those big multi year deals to older free agent outfielders that have worked out very well. Brantley did well on back to back modest deals.
Rockies stopped playing Carlos Gonzalez in CF for the same reason. He played adequate defense there but it was too hard on his body.
When does Trout vacate CF?
When does Ohtani vacate the DH? Yea, he’s valuable all right…. makes his whole team worse by hogging the DH
Isn’t that why everyone wants him? To hog the DH spot and slug when he doesnt pitch? Trout had plenty of games at DH. We are talking about two different things.
So bone spurs come from banging trash cans ?
5 years ago bud, let it go, he has performed at an elite level prior to and after the 2017 incident!
I’ve always felt the fans were robbed of the chance to truly have their feelings expressed in regards to Houston. The season after the revelations should have been the ‘boo tour’ where everyone would have the chance to let the Astros know their feelings. But that was the pandemic year so they only faced empty stadiums. When fans came back, time had passed and so much had happened in and out of baseball that it wasn’t the same.
While I no longer dwell on it much, I don’t have a problem with others if they can’t let go of the Astos actions. We missed out on our catharsis.
Did the surgery remove the cheat? Cool, now I can start rooting for him.