Blue Jays right-hander Ryan Burr will undergo season-ending surgery to address a capsule injury in his throwing shoulder. That was one of many updates that manager John Schneider provided about players on the roster. Shi Davidi of Sportsnet was among those to pass the info along.
Burr, now 31, had a solid showing with the Jays last year. He tossed 32 2/3 innings with a 4.10 earned run average. He struck out 33.6% of opponents and had a walk rate of 8.6%. If it weren’t for a .329 batting average on balls in play, he could have fared better, which is why FIP had him at 3.07 and SIERA at 2.66.
Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to build on that here in 2025. He started the year on the injured list due to shoulder inflammation. He eventually got healthy enough to be reinstated in early July. But after just two appearances, he was quickly placed on the 60-day IL with a rotator cuff strain.
He’ll stay on the IL for the rest of the year. He has passed three years of service time and will qualify for arbitration but the Jays may not tender him a contract. His results last year were good but he’s out of options will be coming off a lost season.
That wasn’t the only unfortunate news about the club’s bullpen depth. Right-hander Yimi García, who is on the 15-day IL due to a left ankle sprain, is experiencing ulnar nerve symptoms in his right elbow.
It’s a bit ominous, as elbow problems were a factor in his 2024 season. Right elbow ulnar neuritis sent him to the IL for about a month in June/July. He then returned to the IL in late August due to right elbow inflammation, after having been traded to the Mariners, and finished the season there.
The Jays nonetheless brought him back on a two-year, $15MM deal. He has tossed 21 innings with a 3.86 ERA this year, working around an IL stint for a right shoulder impingement, the recent ankle issue and now this elbow trouble.
With less than two weeks until the deadline, it’s possible these updates increase the motivation to add some fresh arms. Most contending clubs look for relief help ahead of the deadline and the unfortunate health developments could push the Jays farther in that direction.
There were unfortunate updates about Bowden Francis and Anthony Santander as well. Francis is on the IL with a shoulder impingement and will be shut down for ten days due to feeling “a bit cranky” in that shoulder. Santander is on the IL due to a left shoulder subluxation. He is still not swinging a bat and is set for further evaluation.
Though those are unfortunate updates, they may not have too much of an impact on the deadline. Francis posted a 6.05 ERA before hitting the IL, so the Jays probably weren’t going to be relying on him too heavily for the stretch run. Getting peak Santander back would be a nice boost for the lineup but the Jays have been getting good results from George Springer as the primary designated hitter and have a fairly crowded outfield mix consisting of Addison Barger, Nathan Lukes, Myles Straw, Joey Loperfido and Davis Schneider, with Daulton Varsho on a rehab assignment and on pace to rejoin the club soon.
Image courtesy of Dan Hamilton, Imagn Images
Is he related to Raymond Burr?
“Though those are unfortunate updates, they may not have too much of an impact on the deadline.”
I’m not so sure about that. The Bowden Francis part is right. He wasn’t effective so they weren’t counting on him if/when he came back. Santander, on the other hand, was supposed to be their big power bat pickup in the offseason. If he had come back soon and started finally hitting, they may not have felt the need to add anything more to the offense.
The offense, as good as it’s been at times, still mostly lacks power. Without the return of Santander, they might be in the market for a rental power bat.
The fact that Santander is not swinging the bat is a bad sign that he’s nowhere close to returning, and to expect that he might be done for the year. Jays should go into the deadline preparing for the worst.
Either way, they don’t need an outfielder unless Varsho has a setback — and Varsho is expected to bring power too. Third base would be the best place to add a power bat.
But I’d be happy to forget power, forget the rotation, and just trade for 17 new relievers to be prepared for their continuing attrition.
Barbers the power at third
Call up Hamilton
Perhaps a case of … burr-sitis?
He shot his shot
How does Burr survive his off-seasons in Canada? By channeling himself. Burrrrr