Eloy called up as Blue Jays add Springer (toe fracture) to IL ranks

TORONTO -- Already with a full MLB rotation on the IL, the Blue Jays are unfortunately beginning to build out their IL’s lineup.

George Springer is the latest name added to the list after CT scans on Saturday confirmed a fracture in his left big toe. Up in his place is Eloy Jiménez, who gets his shot after a great Spring Training, but there’s no replacing Springer, the Blue Jays’ leadoff hitter and one of their most important players on and off the field.

Springer has played through countless injuries before, including last season when it looked like he was battling to get through each game by the very end, but manager John Schneider doesn’t want that to begin on April 12.

“We all know that he will do that in the postseason or down the stretch, but the biggest thing is that George has played through a lot of stuff since he’s been here and I don’t want a toe to compromise anything else in his lower body,” Schneider said. “He’s got one speed that he plays at. I think we can weather the storm for now, but I don’t want anything worse to happen to him.”

With Alejando Kirk already on the IL with a left thumb fracture and Addison Barger with a left ankle sprain -- and don’t forget Anthony Santander (left shoulder surgery) -- the Blue Jays’ lineup is feeling the strain of these injuries amid a difficult start to the season.

In a perfect world, this will just be a minimum IL stint of 10 days for Springer. The Blue Jays will know much more by Wednesday or Thursday, but they’re optimistic that he won’t be out long.

“That would obviously be the best-case scenario,” Schneider said. “I think the doctors were saying -- and Ernie [Clement] did something similar to this last year -- that he’ll feel a little bit better in a week to 10 days. It’s probably not going to feel great for a couple of weeks, but just getting that [recovery] time in now to make it feel better is only fair to him and fair to us, really, to have a full roster and a normal, functioning version of George.”

What can Jiménez bring?

Jiménez is still just 29 years old. It feels so far away now, given that he opened the 2026 season in Triple-A Buffalo, but this is what MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospect list looked like going into the 2019 season, prior to Vladdy’s debut:

1. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
2. Fernando Tatis Jr.
3. Eloy Jiménez

Jiménez came into camp this spring looking lighter and more athletic, which he turned into an .857 OPS and two home runs in the Grapefruit League. The Blue Jays don’t need his 31 home runs as a rookie or Silver Slugger form from 2020, but if Jiménez can provide some pop and spell Vladdy off at first base once or twice, that’s a start.

“He’s physically in a place where he can do things we saw him do a couple years ago,” Schneider said. “That’s the hope, that he can have good at-bats, hit the ball hard and help out whenever those run-producing situations are there. We want him to get after it.”

Who will bat leadoff in Springer’s absence?

“As a manager, it’s always comforting to write ‘Springer’ in the leadoff spot,” Schneider said.

Clement got the first crack on Sunday against the Twins, a contact machine who should handle the move naturally. The Blue Jays could also experiment with Davis Schneider, Andres Giménez, Nathan Lukes and others.

“I think it’s going to be a whole lot of different stuff based on the starting pitcher,” Schneider said. “We’re going to need some guys to do some things. We’re going to need to be a bit creative. We’re going to need to lead into this as a challenge when you lose one of the best leadoff hitters of this generation. We’ll figure it out every day.”

That’s Schneider’s job description now. He shows up to the ballpark each day, figures out who’s healthy and tries to make it work. The Blue Jays are being challenged by injuries perhaps more than any team in baseball right now, but the rest of the league won’t stop to pity them, so it’s up to their depth to keep this above water.