Toronto Blue Jays Notebook: Injury Updates, Reliever Mix, More

DENVER — It doesn’t sound like it will be long until the Toronto Blue Jays have a very interesting option to potentially boost their rotation.

Toronto manager John Schneider told reporters on Monday that former Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber, acquired in a trade with the Cleveland Guardians on July 31, will pitch in another rehab game on Saturday with Triple-A Buffalo. After that, only one more rehab start should be needed before a decision is made to bring him to Toronto.

For Bieber, who hasn’t pitched in an MLB game since April 2, 2024, thanks to arm issues and Tommy John surgery, it’s all about making sure he is stretched out enough to make an impact in a starting role for the Blue Jays.

“I want him to get up to 80-85 pitches, so right now it looks like two more (starts),” Schneider said.

Bieber was close to that in last start, coming for Buffalo on Sunday, with Schneider saying he was “efficient” in that outing, throwing “70-75 pitches.”

It’s a good sign for the 30-year-old right-hander as he continues to not only aim to make his MLB return, but also be a key piece of Toronto’s hoped-for deep postseason run.

In another injury update, the Blue Jays are preparing George Springer as much as they can for him to return quickly from his concussion he suffered after being hit by a pitch on July 28.

“We’ve been pretty aggressive with what he is physically cleared to do in terms of hitting and hitting off the machine,” Schneider said.

With that aggressive plan, the Blue Jays are hopeful that Springer will be able to quickly regain the form that saw him punish opposing pitchers in his at-bats since the All-Star break.

Since the Midsummer Classic, Springer was slashing .432/.519/.614 in 44 at-bats before suffering the concussion. While Springer is eligible to come off on the injured list on August 5, how quickly he returns could be determined by what he does when he takes part in a Triple-A game on Wednesday.

Tough stretch for Toronto

Heading into Monday’s series opener in Denver against the Colorado Rockies, Toronto had lost six of its last eight games, shrinking the lead in the American League East to just 3.0 games over the Boston Red Sox. However, Schneider doesn’t believe it’s time to hit the panic button, even with three games against the Los Angeles Dodgers coming later this week at Chavez Ravine.

Are the Blue Jays in a rut?

“I don’t know if we are,” Schneider shrugged. “Against Baltimore and Kansas City (Toronto’s last two opponents), they didn’t let us breathe that much. There weren’t very many mistakes to be hit. We made a few of our own, both on the mound and the field.

“We have to just get back to taking care of the ball for one and trying to continue to have productive innings offensively.”

The Blue Jays certainly did that in Colorado, posting a seven-run ninth inning and hopping out to a 9-0 lead after three innings.

Part of that scoring explosion came from Toronto flexing its power with home runs from Bo Bichette and Daulton Varsho, who blasted his first homer since returning from a two-month absence because of a hamstring injury.