Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is out of the Blue Jays’ lineup for Monday's series opener against the Marlins, one day after suffering a right elbow contusion when he was hit by a pitch.
Guerrero was struck on the right elbow by a 92.1 mph sinker from Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller in Sunday’s 4-1 loss. He immediately departed the game, walking past Toronto manager John Schneider and proceeding directly into the Jays clubhouse.
X-rays were negative for a potential fracture, with the ball simply hitting Guerrero in a “weird” spot, according to Schneider.
Prior to Monday’s series opener against the Marlins, Schneider was still optimistic that this was a best-case outcome for Guerrero. He is not expected to hit the IL, and the Blue Jays’ decision to option Davis Schneider ahead of Monday’s game instead of another outfielder spoke to the Blue Jays' confidence that they won’t the without Guerrero for long.
“He’s sore. He’s just day-to-day,” Schneider said. "We’ll see if he’s available to come off the bench.”
Guerrero has been exceptionally durable during his Major League career, playing in at least 156 games in each of the last five seasons. This is only the second time that he’s been out of the starting lineup this season. The only other instance came on May 5 against the Rays.
In 53 games this year, Guerrero is slashing .287/.386/.372 with three home runs and 22 RBIs.