Major Breaking: Blue Jays placed veteran center fielder on the 10-day injured list
The Blue Jays placed center fielder Daulton Varsho on the 10-day injured list and activated right-hander Erik Swanson from the 60-day IL to make his season debut prior to today’s 8-4 victory over the Athletics. In the corresponding moves, left-hander Easton Lucas was optioned to Triple-A, and second baseman/outfielder Davis Schneider was called up. Varsho is dealing with a left hamstring strain that he sustined in Saturday’s game when he came up limping while rounding second base in an attempt to stretch a double into a triple. Varsho was taken out of the game right away, and it appeared that he would be placed on the injured list, but manager John Schneider told reporters today, including MLB’s Keegan Matheson, that Varsho suffered a relatively less serious Grade 1 strain.
Varsho, who had surgery on his right rotator cuff last September, had to spend the first month of the 2025 season finishing up his injury rehab and getting his throwing arm back in game-ready shape. Since making his season debut on April 29, Varsho has hit.207/.240/.543 with eight home runs, displaying his typical recipe of power but little in the way of average, OBP, or steady contact (though he has struck out in 31 of those 100 PA). This still means Varsho will miss at least a few weeks of action, and it puts him back on the injured list for the second time this season.
In addition to his numbers at the plate, Varsho has shown his usual fantastic glovework in center field. Myles Straw, another excellent defender, can cover for Varsho while he is out, and as Matheson points out, the team will likely use the Straw/Nathan Lukes platoon that was in center field during Varsho’s first IL stint. In an emergency, George Springer, Alan Roden, or Jonatan Clase could also rotate into center field, though Schneider stated that Springer had a minor ankle injury in today’s game.
With Varsho and Anthony Santander already out, Toronto can’t afford another outfield injury, so even though Springer’s ankle problem doesn’t seem too serious, Davis Schneider will probably be used primarily in left field during his most recent major league stint. Second baseman Andres Gimenez is also expected to return from his own IL stint in a few days, and the ensuing infield shuffle may see the hot-hitting Addison Barger moved into corner outfield duty.
Swanson was the winning pitcher today, despite appearing a little unsteady in his one inning of work (1 ER on a wild pitch, and a hit batter). Swanson was sidelined during Spring Training due to a median nerve entrapment, and he was placed on the 60-day injured list in early May after some forearm soreness delayed the start of a scheduled minor league rehab assignment.
Swanson’s two-plus seasons in Toronto have been fairly stable overall; he was excellent in 2023 and then regained that form in the second half of 2024. However, injuries and some off-field trauma plagued the first half of 2024, as Swanson’s four-year-old son was hospitalized after being struck by a car in February of that year. Thankfully, young Toby was discharged from the hospital in two weeks.
