After undergoing rotator cuff surgery last September, Daulton Varsho’s status for Spring Training or Opening Day was up in the air, with the general expectation being that the center fielder would need to miss at least some time at the start of the season. Blue Jays manager John Schneider confirmed Varsho’s IL status to reporters (including Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi and Arden Zwelling) today, though the belief is that Varsho should be able to make his 2025 debut before the first month of the season is over.
Varsho has been able to play as a DH during Spring Training, and he has posted some big numbers in this somewhat limited capacity. Simply using Varsho as a designated hitter until his shoulder fully heals isn’t an ideal situation, of course, since the Jays don’t want to do anything to aggravate the injury, and so much of Varsho’s import comes as a defensive player. Varsho won his first career Gold Glove last season, and was recognized by the Fielding Bible as the best overall defender in all of baseball.
While sidelined, Varsho will continue to work at the Jays’ spring complex in Dunedin, with Zwelling writing that Varsho will play in simulated games and in official minor league games. If all goes well, Varsho will start a proper rehab assignment with Triple-A Buffalo before returning to the Blue Jays’ active roster.
As to who will play center field until Varsho is ready, it appears the competition is down to Nathan Lukes, Myles Straw, and Alan Roden. Zwelling notes that the Jays want Roden (who has yet to make his MLB debut) to play on a regular basis, which could hint that Roden might instead be used in an everyday role in Buffalo rather than in what might be a platoon role in Toronto. Roden may not have much less to prove after posting big minor league numbers in 2023-24, plus he has been making a strong case for a roster job with some impressive spring numbers.
Lukes and Straw could operate in a center-field platoon, as Varsho’s placement on the IL will naturally open up another roster spot. The Jays also made more cuts by optioning Joey Loperfido (once also a candidate for part-time center field work) and Leo Jimenez to Triple-A yesterday, and Schneider said today that Davis Schneider and Tyler Heineman will both break camp with the team. Schneidrer will work as backup or part-time player at second base and in left field, while Heineman will back up starting catcher Alejandro Kirk.
In other Jays roster news, Davidi reports that Eric Lauer’s minor league deal contains an assignment clause that can be exercised tomorrow. Should Lauer use the clause, other teams can reach out to the Jays within a 48-hour window to express interest in adding Lauer to their active rosters, and Toronto then have 48 hours to decide whether to move Lauer or add him to the Blue Jays’ own roster.
Lauer split the 2024 season pitching in the KBO League and at the Triple-A level with the Astros and Pirates organization, thus marking his first season without any MLB action since 2017. From 2018-23 with the Padres and Brewers, Lauer had a 4.30 ERA over 596 2/3 innings, operating primarily as a starting pitcher. An injury-plagued 2023 campaign ended his stint in Milwaukee, and he is now looking to rebound in at least a depth role on a big league roster. Should he remain with the Blue Jays, Lauer will be one of the team’s top options at Triple-A should an injury hit anyone in the projected starting rotation.
