George Springer’s Toronto Experience Requires Patience & Persistence

George Springer’s Toronto Experience Requires Patience & Persistence

by | Jun 9, 2021 | THE THREE SPOT

If slow and steady wins the race, then George Springer looks like the surefire champion.

 In his first year with the Toronto Blue Jays, the former World Series MVP is fresh off of signing a six-year, $150-million contract. But so far he has only played in four games this season, and the Blue Jays are proceeding with caution.

The reason? A nagging right quad injury. 

If Blue Jays’ fans think it’s difficult to patiently wait for Springer’s healthy return, they aren’t alone.

Last week Springer confirmed that the process has been hard for him, too. After all, it’s not like Springer has avoided taking the field. After the quad injury kept him out for most of April, Springer came out swinging with two home runs in the Blue Jays win against the Atlanta Braves. The following day, Springer made three plate appearances against the Braves before feeling fatigued in that same right quad. Fans haven’t seen him play since.

 

 

An MRI revealed that Springer had aggravated his right quad once again. From that point on there’s been a seemingly large question mark surrounding the status of Springer.

From the outside looking in, his quad injury was never anything dramatic. Upon being removed from the May 2, game against the Braves, he did not have to be carried off of the field. He never screamed in pain. Matter of fact, the word that manager Charlie Montoyo used to describe the injury was “fatigue.” 

Despite the occasional bits and pieces from the Blue Jays’ organization regarding Springer’s injury, information on the status of Springer has been vague, and that did not change when Montoyo took the podium again last week.

 When asked about Springer’s health, Montoyo confirmed that Springer had been catching some fly balls and throwing to the bases. He proudly announced that last week had been the best that Springer had felt. In his own words, Montoyo described the update as “good news.” 

 

 

However, he remained quick to shut down any potential idea that Springer is ready to be back on the field at the moment. He described the current status of Springer’s injury as “day-to-day.” Earlier this week, Montoyo announced that Springer’s progress is continuing, and he will begin the rehab process soon.

So what can fans expect from Springer when he does finally return? Fortunately, the bits and pieces that we’ve seen from him since the injury show that he is indeed still very much capable of carrying out the fundamentals, despite his injury’s persistence. However, the fact of the matter is that with a nagging hamstring injury like his, we shouldn’t be surprised if he has a few setbacks before he is back to his normal self.

If the Blue Jays want him to be a healthy, long-term member of this team, Springer’s time spent nursing his injury should be seen as an investment above all. The last thing the organization needs is more harm done than good, especially when dealing with a three-time MLB All-Star.