The Toronto Blue Jays could be hit by the injury bug again.
During the fourth inning of the Blue Jays series opener at home against the Baltimore Orioles, Daulton Varsho was pinch-hit for by Yohendrick Pinango. However, it was due to Varsho being removed from the game, according to reporter Keegan Matheson of MLB.com.
“Daulton Varsho has been removed from the game here in the 4th inning. More to come when we hear why,” Matheson wrote on X.
Pinango then moved to right field at the top of the fifth inning, while Nathan Lukes shifted to center field.
Varsho is hitting .256 with 5 home runs and 17 RBIs this season for the Blue Jays. He’s a key part of Toronto’s roster, offensively and defensively, so the hope is the injury isn’t serious.
Blue Jays Dealing With Plethora of Injuries
If Varsho is injured, it would be a blow to the lineup as Toronto already has a plethora of injuries.
Starting pitchers Dylan Cease, Max Scherzer, and Shane Bieber are all making or have made rehab starts in Triple-A this weekend as they get closer. Jose Berrios, Cody Ponce, and Bowden Francis are lost for the season due to injuries. Veteran relievers Yimi Garcia and Tommy Nance are also making rehab outings.
On offense, All-Star catcher Alejandro Kirk is on his rehab outing, as he’s getting closer to a return.
Meanwhile, Lenyn Sosa and Addison Barger are on the 10-day IL, while slugger Anthony Santander is on the 60-day IL.
The hope is that Varsho can avoid the injured list, and his removal was just precautionary. But Toronto has been banged up by injuries this season, which has played a key role in why the Blue Jays are under .500.
Toronto Acquires Woods Richardson
Amid all the pitching injuries, the Blue Jays acquired Simeon Woods Richardson from the Minnesota Twins.
Woods Richardson was a former Blue Jays top prospect who was part of the deal that sent Berrios to Toronto. Although Minnesota DFA’d him, Blue Jays manager John Schneider believes he can be an impact pitcher.
“We’ll see (how we use him),” Schneider said about Woods Richardson. “We’ll see if (he’ll make) bulk starts, or relief. Whatever it is. He’s been good for a couple of years and kind of got off track this year. Whenever you’re acquiring a player, you’re kind of doing homework before. Especially with a player you’re fairly familiar with too. I think there’s some tweaks to the arsenal that we can make. You can never have enough pitching.”’
Woods Richardson is 12-17 with a 4.76 ERA in 65 career MLB games.
“He’s got some big league experience,” Schneider said. “He’s definitely a competitor and definitely has confidence on the mound. He was a pretty good staple guy in Minnesota’s rotation for a couple of years.”
However, this season, the right-hander has struggled as he’s 0-7 with a 7.74 ERA, which led to Minnesota DFA’ing him.
The Blue Jays enter play on Friday against Baltimore with a record of 30-33 and are 0.5 games back of a Wild Card spot.
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