Blue Jays outfielder George Springer left tonight’s game in the third inning with a left ankle sprain, according to the team. The injury occurred on a wall-crashing attempt at a fly ball in the bottom of the second inning. After some delay Springer, encouragingly, was able to remain in the field and take his at-bat in the third inning before being replaced with Raimel Tapia.
That Springer was able to play after the initial injury likely rules out a serious injury for the star center fielder, but further examination by the team will ultimately decide how quickly he can proceed from here. Regardless of how much time Springer is set to miss, it’s no doubt a troubling development for Toronto. The 32-year-old has been electric since signing a six-year $150M deal in before the 2021 season, putting up a .264/.352/.555 (141 OPS+) line last year and following it up with a similarly robust .283/.344/.531 (159 OPS+) slash line this season.
Unfortunately, Springer’s 2021 season was limited to just 78 games thanks to a myriad of injuries to his quad, knee, and oblique. Toronto wound up missing the playoffs by a single game last year amid trying conditions, and now they’ll look to avoid that same fate this year while encountering some early injury adversity. Since a hot stretch to open the year, the Blue Jays have seen some of the shine come off and currently sit at 17-15, six and a half games out of first in the AL East.
More must-reads: