The Blue Jays welcome back Teoscar Hernandez, and say goodbye to Tanner Roark

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This article was published 30/04/2021 (1656 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It didn’t take long for Teoscar Hernandez to get his timing back at the plate.

The Blue Jays outfielder had four straight days of hitting at Toronto’s alternate site in advance of his return to the big-league club on Friday, following a battle with COVID-19 that had kept him out of the lineup for most of the first month of the season.

Even with that much runway, Hernandez knew things might initially be difficult. But he was eager to figure things out in a hurry.

“I feel really good. I feel like I’m really close to what I’m supposed to be,” Hernandez said over a Friday Zoom call before the Jays began a three-game series against the Atlanta Braves in Dunedin, Fla.

Sure enough, hitting cleanup behind Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Hernandez launched a three-run homer in the sixth inning against Atlanta on Friday night.

He finished the night 2-for-5 in a 13-5 Blue Jays victory.

Hernandez said he contracted the virus from his wife, Jennifer, in early April. The couple was embarrassed and sad, he said, to be the first associated with the Jays to test positive this season, even though they took precautions. The 28-year-old Jay, whose young son also tested positive, suffered four or five days of body aches, headaches and fever before taking a turn for the better.

“I think I was one of the luckiest ones,” Hernandez said of his ability to work out and stay close to game shape at home while on the injured list.

Hernandez’s return couldn’t come too soon for the Jays, who have had a cold month at the plate. Hernandez won his first silver slugger award after hitting .289 with 16 home runs in the shortened 2020 season. Pitching around Guerrero is much more difficult with Hernandez in the on-deck circle.

Before the game, manager Charlie Montoyo said it’s tough to expect returning players such as Hernandez and George Springer — who made his Jays debut on Wednesday after nearly a month out with injuries and picked up his first hit, a single, on Friday — to get back up to speed immediately, but that it shouldn’t take long.

“It’s good to see them get back, for sure,” Montoyo said.

Reinstating Hernandez required a couple of roster moves.

Outfielder Jonathan Davis was optioned to the alternate site, as expected.

Less predictable was the decision to designate veteran starter Tanner Roark for assignment.

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Roark is on the books for $12 million (U.S.) this year but had a 6.75 ERA in 54 2/3 innings over the last two season. The Jays made the move despite question marks about who’s available to start Saturday and Sunday against Atlanta.

“In spring training we saw him kind of coming back and doing better, but he just couldn’t carry it into the season and we felt like it was time to make a change,” Montoyo said.

Hello Hernandez, goodbye Roark.

Hernandez suspected he was even more excited to be back than his teammates were to have him back, but given what the outfielder can do at his best, the feeling may very well be mutual.

Laura Armstrong is a Star sports reporter based in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @lauraarmy