‘It has been brutal.’ George Springer returns to the Blue Jays lineup, batting fifth and looking to make up for lost time

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This article was published 22/06/2021 (1609 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

George Springer made his long-awaited return to the field, and the Blue Jays can only hope that this time he sticks around for more than four games.

Springer was activated from the 10-day injured list prior to Tuesday night’s 2-1 victory over the Miami Marlins. He played all nine innings in centre field and went 0-for-4 with a couple of groundouts in his first official game since May 2.

The return follows a false start earlier in the year, when Springer was activated but only made it through one series before his right quad became an issue. He spent the last month and a half recovering and recently completed a five-game rehab assignment with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons.

“It has been brutal, to be completely honest,” Springer said a few hours before the game. “I want to play; I’ve wanted to play this whole time. I don’t want to be hurt. I don’t like being hurt. I understand that injuries do happen, but for it to happen the way it did, especially as fast as it did, was not fun.

“I want to be out there with the guys. I want to play, whether that’s good, bad or indifferent. This has been extremely hard on me, but I do the best not to show it.”

The frustration is understandable because Springer’s stint on the injured list was never supposed to last this long. He initially hurt his oblique during spring training and, during his ramp-up for the start of the year, strained a quad muscle.

The right leg was supposedly getting better when Springer returned in late April, but despite some impressive performances — including a two-homer game — he never looked like himself. Springer was noticeably hobbled as he ran the bases and his quad never improved to the point where he could play centre. When his condition didn’t improve, the Jays put him back on the IL to try the rehab route all over again.

At the time of Springer’s setback, he was expected to miss at least a month. It ended up being almost two, a total of 71 games. It’s a given this will be Springer’s shortest season in the majors since his rookie year of 2014. This hasn’t been the return on investment the Jays were banking on after handing him $150 million (U.S.) as part of the largest free-agent contract in franchise history, but there’s still 5 1/2 years remaining to change the narrative for the better.

The Jays’ everyday lineup did well to survive without one of its biggest stars. Toronto entered Tuesday with the eighth-ranked offence in the majors, but with noticeable holes on the pitching staff this team needs as many runs as it can get.

In the days leading up to Springer’s return, there was a lot of debate on social media about where he should hit in the lineup. Springer put that topic to rest for now by stating he made his opinion clear to manager Charlie Montoyo prior to his arrival.

Even though Springer has spent the bulk of his career batting leadoff, he told the Jays he didn’t want to mess with the success Marcus Semien, Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Teoscar Hernandez have been enjoying at the top of the lineup.

That means, at least for now, Springer will be hitting behind all those guys. In the coming weeks, as he gets up to full speed at the big-league level, that could change.

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“I told (Montoyo) that I think it’s very important that the guys stay where they are,” said Springer, who went 3-for-17 with a double and an RBI on his rehab assignment. “I believe strongly in the way Marcus, Bo, Vladdy, all those guys, the way they’ve swung the bat, the way they’ve gotten comfortable in those positions.

“I told him I’m willing to do whatever he wants me to do, whatever is best for the team. Eventually we’ll see what that is, but whatever he decides I’m on board with it.”

The good news for the Jays is that Springer’s back in the fold, now they must pray to the baseball gods that he stays that way for the rest of the regular season. The Jays have survived injuries before, but with a seven-game deficit in the American League East standings entering Tuesday, this team needs all hands on deck to make a run.

Springer’s return is a good start. It’ll be an even better one if his bat picks up where it left off. After all, the more runs the Jays score, the less pressure there will be on the bullpen and that’s something everyone involved should be looking forward to.

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