Blue Jays’ Daulton Varsho to start the season on the Injured List

Despite the impressive Spring Training, Daulton Varsho won’t be on the Opening Day roster.

On Saturday morning, multiple sources reported that the Toronto Blue Jays will place the outfielder on the 10-day Injured List to start the season. However, there’s a timetable for his return as MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson reported that they hope to get him back in the first month of the season.

Varsho will be around to accept his Gold Glove during the Blue Jays’ season opener on Thursday but will return to Dunedin to work on returning to the outfield.

It seemed as if the Blue Jays could have used Varsho in a designated hitter role to start the season. So far this Spring Training, the 28-year-old slashed .276/.333/.493 with four home runs in 33 plate appearances, with a 9.1 BB% and an 18.2 K% for a 167 wRC+.

Producing anything like that would have been an improvement over his first two seasons as a Blue Jay. In 2024, the centre fielder slashed .214/.293/.407 with 18 home runs in 513 plate appearances for a 99 wRC+ and the year before, Varsho slashed .220/.285/.389 with 20 home runs in 581 plate appearances. His best season came in 2022 with the Arizona Diamondbacks, hitting a career-best 27 home runs and posting a 106 wRC+ and a 4.4 fWAR.

Still, the Blue Jays believe in the value of his glove because he’s been the best defensive player in the league the past few seasons. In 2023 between centre field and left field, Varsho posted 29 Defensive Runs Saved and 11 Outs Above Average in 1280 innings. Last season, he had 28 DRS and 16 OAA, winning his first career Gold Glove.

Despite losing his bat and defence, the Blue Jays are still in a good position at the start of the season. Their new additions look good and MLB-ready prospects and young players are looking to fill in the holes on the roster. Hopefully, it won’t be long before Varsho is back.