Blue Jays expect Vlad back Saturday for pivotal Yankees series

NEW YORK -- Heading into their biggest series of the season against the Yankees, it sounds like the Blue Jays will have Vladimir Guerrero Jr. back in the lineup for Game 2 on Saturday.

At this point of the season, every series is the Blue Jays’ biggest, but there’s a scorching spotlight on this one after they took two of three from the AL East-leading Rays and continue to chase a Wild Card spot that looked completely unlikely just a few weeks ago.

Guerrero has been on the seven-day concussion IL since last weekend, when he collided with Yankees shortstop George Lombard Jr. on an awkward play at third base. Lombard’s left knee and thigh collided hard with Guerrero’s head, and while he immediately reported concussion symptoms, Blue Jays manager John Schneider says that Guerrero has since cleared all necessary testing and is expected back in the lineup Saturday.

“He felt good. These last couple of days, even before he left to play in Clearwater, [Fla.], he was feeling good,” Schneider said. "He’s feeling normal, so that’s a good thing.”

That Clearwater appearance was a blast from the past for Guerrero, rehabbing with the Single-A Dunedin squad he starred with in 2017. That team was stacked with top prospects, from Guerrero to Bo Bichette, Cavan Biggio and Danny Jansen. The manager? A young Schneider.

Guerrero doubled and walked twice in his rehab game Thursday, which was all the Blue Jays needed to see.

There’s hope within the organization that this recent stint on the IL, unfortunate as it’s been, could also allow Guerrero to rest up the rest of his body and come back fresher. He’s dealt with nagging back issues this season along with some hamstring issues, but he is rarely one to miss a game. As long as Guerrero is fully past this concussion -- which Schneider takes very seriously after being diagnosed with seven during his own Minor League catching career -- a fresh return to the lineup could help drag him out of this season-long slump.

So far, nothing’s had the power to do that. Guerrero is batting .263 with just seven home runs and a .693 OPS over 115 games. He hasn’t hit a home run at Rogers Centre this season, either, the strangest stat of all in a season that’s been impossible to explain.

Schneider has spent the past decade of his career believing in Guerrero, though, all the way back to their days in Dunedin, Fla., together. There’s been no indication that the Blue Jays will move Guerrero from his usual third spot in the lineup, and if Toronto is really going to take a run at this postseason, it needs to be Guerrero back out in front, leading the charge.