Blue Jays' George Springer has 'best day yet' in injury recovery
It appears George Springer's long-awaited return to the Toronto Blue Jays is getting closer.
Springer performed a series of drills prior to Toronto's victory over the Houston Astros on Saturday, including sprints and running first to third on the bases.
“Today was the best day he’s had so far.”
George Springer did sprints, outfield drills again today. He’s closer to getting into rehab games in Trenton, according to Charlie Montoyo, but still no timeframe when that will take place. #Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/YNHVJc75W7— Hazel Mae (@thehazelmae) June 5, 2021
Toronto's $150-million off-season acquisition had his "best day yet" in his recovery from a quadriceps injury, per manager Charlie Montoyo, and is making strong progress toward beginning a rehab assignment with the triple-A team in Trenton, N.J.
Montoyo did not offer a timeline for when that might happen, but we'll let any lip-readers infer what they want from this clip.
To wit: pic.twitter.com/u1wo9aURfU
— Andrew Stoeten (@AndrewStoeten) June 5, 2021
Springer has been limited to just four games this season due to an oblique strain suffered in March and the quad issue that developed shortly after. He returned as the designated hitter on April 28, but left a game on May 2 with "leg fatigue" and landed back on the injured list.
Once the 31-year-old is ready to return, Montoyo expressed it would be as an outfielder as opposed to strictly DH duties.
“The way he looked today, whenever he comes back, he will play more in the outfield,” Montoyo said. “We think that he’ll be ready to play everywhere – play in the outfield, DH – and do everything normal.”
Adding Springer's bat to the lineup will bring even more firepower to a Blue Jays team that ranks among MLB's leaders in several key offensive categories including home runs, batting average and OPS. Fans already got a brief glimpse of what he can provide earlier this season when he swatted two home runs during his four-game cameo, including this absolute moonshot.
George Springer’s 470-foot home run is the #BlueJays longest since Randal Grichuk went 471 back on June 25, 2018.
pic.twitter.com/XmqZMVTZTy— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) May 2, 2021
Here's hoping for a clean bill of health through the beginning of October and maybe even beyond.
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