The Blue Jays are placing George Springer back on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to May 3, with a right quad strain (via Shi Davidi of Sportsnet). The star center fielder reaggravated the same injury that kept him out for almost all of April. It’s unclear how long the team expects him to be sidelined this time around, but Springer was sent for an MRI earlier today, per Gregor Chisholm of the Toronto Star (Twitter link). In a corresponding move, Jonathan Davis has been recalled from Triple-A Buffalo.
It’s tough to imagine a worse start to Springer’s tenure in Toronto. The 31-year-old strained an oblique in Spring Training. On the cusp of returning from that injury, he suffered the aforementioned first quad strain. The quad delayed his regular season debut by a few weeks, and it’s causing him issue yet again.
Altogether, the series of injuries has limited Springer to 18 plate appearances in four games. That’s certainly not what he or the Jays imagined when he signed the offseason’s biggest free agent guarantee (six years, $150MM) over the winter. While Springer went on the IL each season from 2017-19, those absences generally didn’t keep him out long. He tallied 550+ plate appearances every year from 2016-19 and avoided the IL in 2020, playing in 51 of a possible 60 games. Of course, Springer earned that massive contract with an extended run of productivity, hitting .273/.363/.500 (135 wRC+) over his final five seasons with the Astros.
With Springer out for the season’s first month, the Jays turned to Randal Grichuk and Davis to cover center field. Grichuk, who has hit a strong .287/.330/.475, is likely in line for the lion’s share of playing time there yet again. Davis got off to a dreadful start to the year before being optioned after Springer came off the IL last week.
A little bit too much Spring(er) in his step.
Jimmertree can we get a comment from your scouts eyes?
Wow that’s a name I haven’t seen in a while
Biggest waste of money I’ve ever seen! Magically hurt again! He isn’t gonna play all year, the only year he’ll have value before he gets washed up in old age. Void the contract!
bruh it’s 30 games into the season calm down lol… as a fellow jays fan i feel ur pain, but he gonna be a beast when he’s healthy
I respect the optimism, and I really hope he’s able to get healthy. Maybe it’s just PTSD from Tulo and Donaldson, but seeing an older player get hurt a bunch is scary.
This was pretty clearly a player who wasn’t properly healed from his original injury. Big muscle injuries, particularly to the legs must be fully and completely healed before you go back to full speed. Re-aggravations happen quite often.
My frustratoin as a Jays fan is seeing the team let him go out there for days after he had re-injured it, as if he could rub some dirt on it and get better. The second he limped down that baseline, they should have pulled him and let him get properly rested and healed up.
Once they actually get him fully healed though, I’m sure he’ll be great. They just have to have some better health management.
I’m sure he’d be great to if fully healthy, but the only question is how long that will take. Just look at Christian Yelich, could be on the IL all season with a mysterious injury. The jays need to maximize what they can of Springer the first 2 years, cause then a sharp decline is coming.
I disagree there will be a big drop off.
He won’t be a leadoff hitter always and I’ve always thought he was a 3 hitter and from that position he can do a lot of damage for awhile.
We know this about Springer, when he is healthy he is a serious threat.
That’s the inherent risk of signing big free agents. Lindor can’t hit a lick in NY and some are calling to ship him out with some salary which I find laughable. Way too early to panic.
Jacoby Ellsbury
Pablo Sandoval
no… no one would pay what the Mets paid… someday these teams will learn.
not to worry there will be a lockout for one or two years so some of that money will stay with the Mets…
Exactly. All you hear from Canada every offseason is whining and crying because the Blue Jays didn’t sign every free agent. They apparently didn’t understand that free agents aren’t going to be 21 year olds. They don’t understand there is a higher risk of injury.
But at least when the players get injured then they have a chance to do more whining and crying, which seems to be their second favorite sport after hockey.
PTSD from Josh Donaldson? He was a fantastic value for the Jays, who cares if he had one year he was mostly hurt. He’s not a particularly injury-prone player overall.
Makes sense why you say that then if you’re a Jays fan. I’m sorry to say it but he is a waste of money. He can be good when healthy but don’t bet on him hitting .300. My guess is he’ll hit .260-.275 across this contract.
Springer isn’t being paid to hit .300 and nobody has ever suggested he would. He’s a .269 career hitter. They want him to hit .260 with a .850 OPS and play a competent center field — that’s the dream scenario and would fully justify his contract. He’s not being paid like Mike Trout, so nobody expects him to be Mike Trout.
30 games into year 1 of his contract. Chill. He’s still been as productive as Lindor… Haha. Seriously Lindor and Springer will be fine.
Met fan opinion jumping in here: the Lindor won’t be fine. The word “albatross” will be bandied about in the near future
Exactly how I feel about Springer lol. I really hope both of them turn it around, but it’s not looking good. Jays and Mets finna takes some L’s.
At least Lindor is just starting the prime of his career. He’ll like use the “switching leagues” thing as an excuse, but Springer has already been in the AL, and he’ll turn 32 in September.
Francisco Lindor for Elvis Andrus. Done deal.
Geez, we get it. You don’t like Springer. You literally whine on every post mentioning him. Take a Xanax and chill already.
Xanax is dangerous to take.
@Cosmo2 ridiculous to be giving up on him this early.
no he really is too good… AL fans know this… not sure about a slump this long but keep waiting… he has hit 1 hr i believe. look at Torres , no power but at least hitting 230..
No that would be Jacoby Ellsbury
Don’t forget Pablo Sandoval
And he hasn’t play a single game at the concrete outfield of Rogers Center : (
It’s only going to get worse.
It’s a ‘Centre’. Please do your homework.
Anthony, Grichuk is at .287/.330/.475 for the year unless you are using his numbers just in CF or something…
Yeah, I’d originally accidentally pulled up his numbers as a center fielder. Post is fixed, thanks!
Go back to Asstros.
Or go to New York and get take some ‘roids
Tulo 2.0
Tulo was overrated before he got to Toronto where as Springer was ranked a good player.
Karma
Karma would affect the next life, not this one.
Karma isn’t real therefore you can’t claim that it would affect this life or the next, it’s a total crapshoot.
Must’ve hurt himself on bang-bang play.
Said hes been recalled from Triple A Buffalo….. what is it now? Will Buffalo play their home games at home or will they be forced to play home in another park for awhile?
The Bisons are playing in Trenton NJ (The Trenton Thunders home park)
Buffalo is the Jays place for the near future.
Thanks
Next year they should let the Bisons play in Buffalo and put the Blue Jays in Trenton. They’ll still be in lockdown with the borders closed,. LOL!!!
Prime example of why you shouldn’t play with cheaters!
Prime example of why you don’t sign free agents for more than a year
We welcome that perspective on Braves posts. 🙂
If only the White Sox would have signed him this offseason, they could have had that much more OF depth on the IL.
Uh oh spaghetti oh. Hope they kept their receipt. # returntosender
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
toilet
Snitches get stitches. And so does Springer it would seem. Jerry! Jerry!
With all these injuries, I’m shocked that he didn’t sign with the Mets! And I’m a Mets fan.
More likely the Yankees.
Springer is very twitchy, almost Stanton-lite like. This is a super unqualified medical hypothesis, but it seems the ultra fast twitch types strain their muscles with greater frequency.
It seems especially pronounced in baseball with all the sprints and violent swings with relatively cold muscles.
Ricky Henderson says hi
I agree, Henderson was oth twitchy and plenty healthy as was Bo Jackson before a fluke hip injury.
In general though I feel comfortable with the correlation. Baseball just doesnt provide an elevated core temperature leaving athletes more open to strains than a cardio heavy sport such as hockey, basketball or football.
I am a big Georges Springer fan, but boy is he made of glass
And this is the reason the Astros didn’t try harder to resign him. Love George, but the injuries are so tough. Hope he recovers because he’s awesome when healthy and can put a team on his back.
What they don’t tell you is that Springer tripped over a garbage can.
Attention Mets fans! How about a George Springer for Francisco Lindor trade straight up? Who says no?
Jays.
Charlie said Springer could pinch hit on Monday and that didn’t happen in a 1-run game. Clearly had to put him on the IL if he wasn’t sent up in that spot. Kirk Gibson laughed.
Blue Jays also feel Reese McGuire will handle himself in the majors better than Riley Adams. Pun intended.
Ellsburry, Ellsburry Ellsburry
I thought they built the $150 Million Dollar Man bigger, stronger, faster???
Good
The dude is a bit on the old side; closer to 32 than 31. If there is a single fatal flaw for most GMs, it is ignoring age. A 6-year contract for someone 28 is fine. You might regret the last year or two, but you’ll also likely get 3-4 good seasons. When you hire someone almost 32, you’re probably going to get 1-2 good seasons, and regret the final four.
But that’s how baseball is setup.
Let’s not forget that the first 3 years or a players career they are huge bargain, then the next 3 years they are decent bargain based on performance.
Players cash in when they reach free agency as they should. In the best CBA hopefully they address some of these issues, like starting the service clock while players are in the minors, so teams can’t manipulate service time
Dustyslambchops23
But that’s how baseball is setup.
================================================
Don’t get me wrong. I have no issue with it from a player’s perspective. It is structured so that you are cheap and young, followed by old and rich.
My issue is with the GMs that either refuse to believe that the players don’t get old, or feel that the old player that they sign is going to be the exception.
When you sign a guy, there should be some type of balance. Maybe you get two prime years, two years of decline, and two weak years. Where the excess value of the first two years offsets the declining value of the last two years.
When the Angels signed Pujols, my objection was that they would receive 1-2 goods years, maybe 1-2 mediocre years, and maybe 6-8 bad years.
Is anyone expecting more than 1-2 good seasons from Springer? Older players just can’t get around on the heat.
Karma.
For what?
I think George is a heck of a player, but six years at his age is too much. There were injury warning signs for him the past few years. When he came back the Jays should have him at DH for a week or two.. They do not have a full time DH… This was a no brainer… when he returns DH him again for a week or two…
Wow! Blue Jays gotta love this deal.
I wish teams would just be honest about injuries instead of saying for 3 days “oh he didn’t re-injure it, he just has leg fatigue” and then bam back to the IL. Fans and journalists aren’t stupid, why do teams treat them like they’re stupid?
I’ll be here for the next 6 years telling you, “I told you so”.
The baseball Gods did not like him leaving the ‘STROS!!
ARE YOU READY!!!!
for Jonathan Davis?