TORONTO — At the same time as Max Scherzer addressed the media outside the clubhouse after becoming the 13th Toronto Blue Jays player on the injured list, George Springer began to run the bases on the field, inching closer to a return.
The mixed news on Monday, with Chase Lee recalled from triple-A Buffalo, extended the ongoing roster churn that’s marked the beginning of the 2026 season, although one that’s also moving to normalcy.
On Tuesday, Trey Yesavage will become the first of the club’s injured players to return when he starts against the Boston Red Sox, and Springer may very well be next.
The 36-year-old, out since fracturing his left big toe on April 11, took his first live at-bats since the injury against double-A lefty Mason Olson and then simulated several baserunning scenarios under the watchful eyes of head trainer Jose Ministral and strength and conditioning coach Scott Weberg.
Once done, he plopped himself down on the dugout bench, and when asked how things went, he smiled and said, “I had a good day, I'm excited about it.”
“I know it's going to be there, and it is what it is,” Springer said of managing the pain in his toe. “My swing was in a good place, not bad for not being out there for a while. So, I'll take it for sure.”
Scherzer, on the other hand, was coming to terms with reality of a different sort, forced to the sidelines by “the double whammy” of right forearm tendinitis and left ankle inflammation he said he has been dealing with for a few weeks. He’s been ordered to rest for a week before resuming activity, with more of a potential timeline to follow from there.
“Watching film of the last start (2.1 innings versus Cleveland on Friday), I saw I was making a mechanical adjustment to pitch around this foot injury,” said Scherzer. “And so when I went to the bullpen to try to correct it and try to get back into my normal mechanics, when I tried to throw like I would normally, I could just tell I just wasn't right. …
“There is nothing structurally wrong,” he added. “I just need time to heal and get right. And when I can get right, I can back out here and pitch.”
In the interim, the Blue Jays are TBD for Scherzer’s start Wednesday, with Eric Lauer likely to cover it if he’s not needed Tuesday behind Yesavage. Jose Berrios will make his rehab start Tuesday with Buffalo as scheduled and, all things being equal, is likely to cover the next turn after that, as the rotation moves closer to the one envisioned during the winter.
Springer, meanwhile, will gear up to run the bases and take more live batting practice Tuesday, this time against Bisons righty Pat Gallagher, seeking to do everything as normally as possible, especially his running.
"The whole goal is to just not (do anything differently),” Springer explained. “I don't want to go out there and have to adjust to something or do something that could potentially impact a leg muscle or a back or something. Trying to be as normal as I possibly can, and if it hurts, it hurts. And if it doesn't, it doesn't. …
“As far as I understand, it's just one of those things where I can get through it and here we go.”
SHORT HOPS: Yimi Garcia, moved to the 60-day injured list over the weekend, is throwing another live batting practice Tuesday and could progress to rehab games after that. … Addison Barger is set to run the bases later this week and could see action in rehab games in Dunedin this weekend. … Shortstop Andres Gimenez didn’t start for the second straight game Monday as “he's a little banged up,” said John Schneider. “I wanted to give him a day (Sunday), and (Monday) kind of lined up with the lefty (Ranger Suarez) on the mound. He's available to play even if we need him, but I just wanted to get him a little bit of a breather. He's been playing a ton but he's fine. He's fine physically, just a little tired.”
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