Daulton Varsho underwent rotator cuff surgery in late September, with the expectation that he would likely start the season on the 10-day injured list, even if his absence wouldn’t stretch too far into April. That timeline isn’t much clearer now that Spring Training is well underway, but Varsho logged his first Grapefruit League action yesterday, going 1-for-3 with a homer while acting as the Blue Jays’ designated hitter in a 10-7 win over the Tigers. Getting back to regular hitting action is certainly a good sign for Varsho, and Jays manager John Schneider also provided reporters (including MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson) with some updates on Varsho’s defensive progress.
“There’s more boxes to check, like throwing to the bases on back-to-back days,” Schneider said. “This was another good day for him, throwing out to 120 feet, so I think it’s more about how he’s rebounding from those once he does start throwing to the bases and getting into games….We’re trying to take this in three- or four-day buckets. He’s progressing well. I don’t want to put anything past him or say [Opening Day is] not a definite possibility. It will go right down to the end as long as he doesn’t have any setbacks. If he’s there, great. If he’s not, we know he’s going to be soon.”
The defense is the biggest factor in Varsho’s recovery, as the Gold Glove winner is one of baseball’s best defensive players. Matheson figures Joey Loperfido is the top candidate to fill in for Varsho in center field if an IL stint is indeed required, though these early results provide some optimism that Varsho could be ready to go for March 27.
More from around the AL East….
- Brayan Bello continues to feel confident about breaking camp with the Red Sox, as the right-hander threw his first bullpen session of Spring Training yesterday following some shoulder soreness. “The trainers are telling me that I’m right on track as long as I just keep doing my work that I’ve been doing,” Bello told MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith and other reporters, adding that only threw at around 70-75% of his capacity during the “very light session.” An exact timeline hasn’t been established, but Bello figures he’ll get a couple more bullpen sessions before getting into his first game activity of the spring. Obviously the Sox will continue to watch Bello closely and a season-opening IL stint hasn’t been ruled out, though Bello said Friday that “the shoulders are good, the mechanics are good.”
- Though the Orioles signed Gary Sanchez to back up Adley Rutschman at the catching position, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko wonders if the team might still add a veteran for depth purposes, just because the O’s would suddenly be thin behind the plate if Rutschman or Sanchez got hurt. David Banuelos is the only other catcher in Baltimore’s camp with any MLB experience, and Banuelos’ big league resume consists of a pinch-hit at-bat in a single game last April. A later-season catching injury might open the door for top prospect Samuel Basallo to make his debut in the Show, though Kubatko isn’t sure the Orioles would want to rush Basallo’s development in such a circumstance. Basallo is regarded as one of the sport’s top prospects, and he made his Triple-A debut in the form of 21 games with Norfolk last season.
The Os don’t need another catcher. Maverick Handley has a couple hundred at bats in AAA and could be the emergency backup because of injuries. If Basallo starts well then you can bring him up if u have to
But, he can’t even hit AAA pitching.
You’re getting killed in the comment you left about Parker Meadows, cooperhill lol
Rightfully so he’s getting hammered about Parker Meadows lol
Stein – Yeah he’s losing 34-0 !!! He’s like the Cleveland Browns.
Word of advice to him, rushing to get first comment doesn’t mean jack spit if the comment is total garbage.
So you can’t tell him he’s getting killed on the actual post? He still gets the notification. Unless there is some sort of inside joke or something, I don’t get mentioning it on a different topic thread
But he has a really boffo name.
The league is filled with backup catchers that can’t hit
gorav – And former starting catchers, like Vazquez.
I could see them adding a catcher. Free agent or waiver claim,
…and how’s it work with Uniformed Managers on the staff that might be recently retired and available…hum…
Considering Varsho had a homer yesterday o could see him opening as DH for the first week and have straw in cf . Interested to see if Loperfido can get it going though as I think bloss isn’t gonna turn out but it’s still early
Clase is right now probably management’s choice to seize the CF spot and leadoff spot in the batting order, maybe even wrestling the full time job away from a very disappointing Daulton Varsho. Atkins/Shapiro are eying Clase’s .368 MILB OBP and hoping his questionable glove will hold up in centre.
No rookie is taking Daulton Varsho’s starting role. That terribly disappointing season from Varsho last year was worth 5 WAR thanks to being quite possibly the best defender on the planet.
Ya not even KK the best defensive CF in the last 20-30 years couldnt hold Varsho outta CF. Clase would be LF maybe considering management has NFC who to put there
George Springer losing his starting job this year is a distinct possibility… although they’re probably going to give him months of rope.
Question is, will Bello be more effective this year?
True, but they expected more when they signed him. Abd I’m not sure I trust Kutter as a reliable #4
He was very effective for the first 2/3 of last season and then he wore down.
Problem is, that’s all of our pitchers with spotty effectiveness. Story of the last 3 years
Plus, Maverick is a great baseball name.
So far, Bello is a four, kind of Pivetta like results with better won loss record. He could take a step forward and get to a two, something that Pivetta was never quite capable of doing. That’s kind of what Houck has done. Hopefully, Bello matures this year and finds how to best utilize his talent.
Hayzee – Agreed, he has the tools but obviously regressed last year. Hopefully this will be a breakthrough year for him.
Baseball is a hard game to master and to stay there. Some pitchers are great from the get go but don’t stay at that level. Others take a longer route before they “arrive”. As the hitters adjust, the pitcher also needs to evolve. Great command is the common factor that gets you to the top and keeps you there. That and health.
hayzee – Bello has had 2 1//2 MLB seasons already, typically the late bloomers figure it out before they turn 27 ….. so this needs to be his year. They didn’t give him that massive contract to be a 4.50 ERA pitcher.
Let’s hope extra help from Pedro continues to pay dividends as Breslow’s program also invests time with him
I’m also hoping JDM hangs up the spikes soon and would consider a coaching staff role to help guys with hitting on our team, and, that Cora moves out of the way for Varitek in a couple years to manage. I’d love to see TEK as a bench coach. Wish this year, but, at least next year. Then a year after that, let him take the managing reins
I’m surprised that Jason Varitek hasn’t been tapped to be at least a bench coach for the Red Sox. Dude is a legend and he’s got a lot of baseball IQ.
At first he was only interested in a very limited, non-travelling role.
In the last year or two however, he has shown interest in a more full time position.
It’d be a bigger travesty than the mookie trade for him to leave the organization though IMO.
Jason Varitek has a daughter from his second marriage who is 12. I’m guessing he wants time for family while she’s growing up. That keeps him from taking a job that involves travel, I’m guessing?
GaSox – I wouldn’t write off JDM just yet, he had a fantastic 2023 season and I think the lack of a ST last year negatively impacted his season.
I think if the Sox miss the playoffs again this year Cora could be kicked upstairs. They are still holding the GM position for him.
Tek is already basically a bench coach, Game Planning & Run Prevention sure seems like what the responsibilities used to be for a bench coach.
But yeah, I really hope Tek takes over as manager. The team badly needs a knowledgeable no-nonsense guy who will care more about winning than being every player’s buddy.
Hayzee – He interviewed for the Giants manager job 2 years ago. He’s ready. I was really hoping Cora would leave last year, I don’t know how much longer Tek can go before some team snags him.
I was chatting about Tek with Chad Finn on BlueSky the other day. Tek chose the back office role for lifestyle reasons. He hasn’t wanted a more active role.
FPG I hope you’re wrong about Cora getting kicked upstairs. Breslow is turning the pitching around I want to see Breslow get his chance really liking how the pitching is setting up now and in the future.
Bruin – The GM position is vacant, Cora taking it wouldn’t impact Breslow.
The GM reports to Breslow.
It’s a shame catchers don’t get the love they deserve. It’s the most important position in any sport. What part of the game are they not involved in? Because of the rigors of the sport it effects their offense they are dismissed.
Orioles sogn a vet and carry 3 carchers? Makes no sense unless the vet would take a MiLB deal
Agree. Hey, Vavra is back. Wasn’t he trying out the position a couple years back?
It would likely just be a middling but competent veteran on a MiLB deal who goes to Norfolk to await an injury to Adley or the Sanchise.
This Sox staff kind of needs Bello to break camp with them. I don’t want to rely on the depth too early and see them dig themselves into a hole early. 4 healthy starters looks and feels much better than 3.
Sox need a healthy Bello to take the next step in his development. There is ace potential in there if he can figure out how to harness it
Straw is next on the depth chart not Loperfido; what kind of reporting is this?
Daulton Varsho, son of former big leaguer Gary Varsho and named after Dutch Daulton – is a very underrated player. A converted catcher, that plays excellent defense in CF and the corners. The lefty swinger hits southpaws just as well as he hits RHP. A true everyday Allstar caliber player with above average pop, that can also be an emergency catcher. Sign me up if the Blue Jays are out of contention come mid July.
Not related to this post, but Orioles news nonetheless, Hyde announced that Felix Bautista will make his spring training debut tomorrow, 3/3, against the Red Sox. Bautista hasn’t pitched since August of 2023. Surprised MLBTR hasn’t got it yet.
Hard to believe that Buster Olney ranked Varsho outside of the top 10 cfers going into 2025. Dude is a hater, I hope Varsho pops 30 this year.
It’s his low average that really drags down his numbers. If he could just be league average.
5 war which was 3rd in MLB in 2024. Olney is a donkey and he should avoid ever commenting on the Jays because it’s the same negative rhetoric. He’s a loser
5 war which most was dwarf that does not age as well as bat first players.
So you think in 1 year he’s going to be ranked top 3 to 11th? Gtfo loser