Toronto Blue Jays star outfielder George Springer will be active for Tuesday's game against the Miami Marlins after missing more than a month with a right quad strain, the team announced.
Springer was activated on Tuesday after completing a five-game rehab stint with triple-A Buffalo last week. He will bat fifth and play centre-field Tuesday.
The Blue Jays also announced that right-handed pitcher Jacob Barnes will be active for the first of two games against the Marlins.
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In corresponding moves, infielder Rowdy Tellez was optioned to triple-A Buffalo, as was outfielder Jonathan Davis, who has been reinstated from the restricted list.
To close out the roster moves, the Blue Jays announced that outfielder Jared Hoying has been re-assigned to triple-A and may elect free agency.
The 31-year-old Springer, whom the Blue Jays signed to a franchise-record six-year, $150-million contract in free agency, has been limited to only four major-league games this season due to a number of injuries. That includes an oblique strain suffered in spring training and the quad issue which was re-aggravated during his first return to action in early May.
“Last time, I felt fine. I felt good. But this time, I feel great,” Springer told reporters on Tuesday, reflecting on the first time he was given the all-clear to join the Blue Jays earlier this spring.
“Being able to do everything I need to do — I believe I can, I know I can.”
Springer said being sidelined so long has “been brutal.”
“This has been extremely hard on me. I try to do my best not to show it, just to be supportive of the guys every day and to kind of just suffer silently and hopefully get better and here I am now,” he said.
Brought in to be a veteran leader for the young Blue Jays and lead by example, he’s had to mostly lean on his words and locker room presence to make his impact so far.
“I try to be available to the best that I can, to help, to answer any questions, to talk about things, whatever the case,” he said of his interactions with teammates.
“The best thing that I hope I’ve done is just kind of be there for the guys. Not showing that I’m not necessarily in the best place, because I want to go out there and I want to play and all that. So, hopefully I helped to some degree.”
The former World Series MVP had three hits, including two home runs, during his four-game stint with the Blue Jays earlier this season.
You can watch Springer's return to the Blue Jays lineup on Sportsnet ONE and SN Now Tuesday night. Coverage begins with Blue Jays Central at 6:30 p.m. ET / 3:30 p.m. PT followed by first pitch at 7:10 p.m. ET / 4:10 p.m. PT.
