George Springer’s knee injury doesn’t have to sink the Blue Jays’ playoff hopes. But it might

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This article was published 17/08/2021 (1526 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Blue Jays’ road to the post-season just became a lot more difficult to navigate following news late Tuesday afternoon that George Springer will be out for an indefinite period with a left knee injury.

Springer was placed on the 10-day injured list prior to Tuesday night’s disappointing 12-6 loss to the lowly Washington Nationals. That means he will be out of action until at least Aug. 25, but his absence could end up being much longer.

The 31-year-old centre-fielder was hurt after crashing into the wall while attempting to make a catch during Saturday’s loss to the Seattle Mariners. He remained on the ground for several minutes before eventually limping off the field and being helped down the dugout steps by his teammates.

The news late Saturday night initially appeared to be encouraging. X-rays on Springer’s left ankle were negative, and he was diagnosed with a sprain. As the ankle started to improve by Monday, however, Springer began feeling discomfort in his knee. After informing the Jays, he was sent for an MRI which revealed a knee sprain.

“I wish I did,” Montoyo told reporters when asked if he knew when Springer might be able to return. “Of course, our hope is that he’s back before the year is over, but I don’t want to speculate on timeline because I don’t really know.”

The injury couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Jays, who are trying to make a push for the post-season and have ground to make up in the standings. With Tuesday’s loss, they dropped to 3-5 on their road trip to slip even further behind the other contenders. They trail the Yankees, Red Sox and A’s by four games in the chase for one of the two wild-card spots. Overcoming that deficit would have been difficult enough with a healthy Springer. It becomes even more challenging following the departure of one of baseball’s top leadoff hitters.

Randal Grichuk is expected to become the primary centre-fielder during Springer’s absence, but Teoscar Hernández could see some occasional work there as well. The Jays also have Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Corey Dickerson to cover off the outfield and designated hitter spots. It’s still a strong group, just not nearly as potent as it was last week.

Springer signed a $150-million (U.S.) contract last off-season and has since suffered three major injuries. During spring training, it was a strained oblique. While attempting to rush back before the start of the season, he strained his right quadriceps muscle, which kept him out of action until June 22 except for a four-game stint in late April. He has been on the IL four times since 2019.

The knee sounds like the most serious injury to date, but the Jays won’t know exactly what’s going on until he undergoes more tests. Springer was scheduled to visit the Nationals’ team doctor at some point Tuesday night for another opinion. If the diagnosis is severe enough, Springer could be out for the rest of the season, but the Jays are clinging to the hope that he will be back.

There should be enough offensive firepower for the Jays to survive without one of their top bats. Even minus Springer for almost half the year, they have been among the league leaders in runs scored all season and still have a dangerous top four of Marcus Semien, Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Hernández. With Springer, the Jays average 5.39 runs per game; without him, the number is still a respectable 5.0.

The bigger unknown is whether the lineup will be good enough to offset the deficiencies elsewhere. The Jays, who added José Berríos before the trade deadline, have a strong rotation but there are a lot of lingering questions about their struggling bullpen. Getting lefty Tim Mayza back from a left elbow injury on Tuesday will help. Losing Springer hurts even more.

“He’s down — not only George, the whole team,” Montoyo said when asked how Springer was dealing with the news. “He’s one of our best players and we were doing pretty good with him at the top of the lineup. Now we have to do what we did when we lost him the first time. Somebody has to pick up the slack and do the best they can. We’ve done that before. Let’s do it again until he comes back.”

A longer-term question is how Springer’s injury-plagued season will affect his ability to remain an everyday centre-fielder. The Jays signed him to play a prime position and his glove was one of the reasons the team entered the year thinking it would be better defensively than it was a year ago.

There’s no need to rush into any judgments about 2022 and beyond, but multiple leg injuries for a guy who turns 32 next month doesn’t bode well. If he returns next year and experiences similar issues, it might not be long before the Jays are forced to consider him for a corner spot instead.

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That’s a problem for another day. The more pressing concern is finding a way to not only survive without Springer, but also gain ground in the standings. Even if he returns later in the year, the Jays can’t afford to wait until he does before making a move. Eleven of their next 15 games are against teams with records under .500. Racking up wins during this stretch is crucial before matchups with contenders Oakland, Tampa Bay and New York in early September.

When Springer went down Saturday and the bullpen responded by coughing up the lead to Seattle, it was hard to shake the feeling that the Jays’ season was starting to fall apart. Later that night, following the diagnosis of an ankle sprain, it seemed like they were being given a second chance.

The positive vibes were short lived. The only thing that’s going to get them back is a string of wins during this soft part of the schedule.

The hope is when that stretch is over, Springer will be back on the field. If he’s not, a shot at October baseball might follow the Jays’ prized off-season recruit out the door.

Gregor Chisholm is a Toronto-based baseball columnist for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @GregorChisholm or reach him via email: gchisholm@thestar.ca