TORONTO -- George Springer left Saturday’s game against the Twins with a left big toe fracture, the Blue Jays announced, another blow in a season that already feels cursed by injuries.
Springer fouled a pitch off his left foot in the third inning and immediately went down in pain, but as he’s known for doing, popped right back up and finished the at-bat. When his spot came back around in the lineup, though, Myles Straw walked out of the dugout to pinch-hit.
Springer is now undergoing a CT scan after the Blue Jays’ 7-4 loss to get a fuller diagnosis, which will play into whether he needs an IL stint and how long that could potentially be.
“The CT will confirm something in terms of a plan. I know Georgie plays through a lot all the time,” manager John Schneider said. “Fingers crossed, but we’ll see what this CT says.”
We’ve seen Springer foul balls off his foot, ankle and knee countless times before, but there’s just something in the water this season. The Blue Jays’ injury luck has been among the worst in baseball, and what began with their rotation is now spilling over into the lineup.
This all began in Spring Training when Shane Bieber, Trey Yesavage and José Berríos opened the season on the IL, joined by Yimi Garcia and Anthony Santander. Since then, Cody Ponce has undergone knee surgery that may have already ended his 2026 season, Alejandro Kirk fractured his left thumb and Addison Barger injured both ankles on the same play.
The Blue Jays built such impressive depth coming into the season, but there’s only so much one team can take.
“I’ve been saying this a lot to start the year. There’s going to be some of this. There are going to be ups and downs and injuries,” Schneider said. “The minute we start saying, ‘Woe is me’, 'Woe is us' or 'Why us?' That’s when things can really unravel. Obviously, these are some key guys that are missing. I’ve told the guys, instead of saying those things, say, ‘What now?’”
If Springer needs to miss any amount of time, the options to replace him are wide open, considering that Springer has primarily operated as the Blue Jays’ DH and rarely played the outfield.
It could open the door for Tyler Fitzgerald to see more playing time, particularly against lefties, which has been hard to find since he was added to the roster recently. Surely, this means more opportunities for Jesús Sánchez and Davis Schneider, too, two of the bright spots despite some early struggles from the lineup as a whole. Who would take Springer’s roster spot, though?
Outfielder Jonatan Clase is the only remaining position player on the 40-man roster, but he's already on the IL, too. Down in Triple-A Buffalo, Eloy Jiménez is off to a strong start and was one of the Blue Jays’ best hitters in Spring Training. Throughout March, it was clear that there wouldn’t be room on the roster for Jiménez, given that Springer was the primary DH and first base was occupied by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Kazuma Okamoto. Any absence from Springer could be the exact opening Jiménez would need to see playing time, though.
Other options from Triple-A include No. 13 prospect Josh Kasevich, who caught the attention of coaches with an excellent spring but might still need more regular reps to be available before he gets the call. RJ Schreck (No. 9), Yohendrick Pinango (No. 10) Charles McAdoo (No. 26) are the other ranked prospects on Buffalo’s roster while Carlos Mendoza, Josh Rivera and Riley Tirotta are also seeing regular at-bats.
The Blue Jays have a quick turnaround going into Sunday’s finale against the Twins, but at the very least, it’s likely they will work to get a player to Toronto on the taxi squad while they await Springer’s full diagnosis.