Blue Jays To Activate George Springer

Springer has been out for over two weeks with a left knee sprain

For the third time this year, George Springer is back.

The Blue Jays have activated ahead of today's game in Toronto, GM Ross Atkins announced Monday. The star outfielder had been working back from a sprained left knee, but did not need a rehab assignment in the minor leagues.

Outfielder Josh Palacios was optioned to triple-A Buffalo as the corresponding roster move.

Springer suffered the injury on August 14th in Seattle, crashing into the outfield wall attempting to make a play on a deep fly. The centerfielder has been taking batting practice, running the bases, and testing his knee over the last week, working back from the injury with a knee brace. Initially diagnosed as an ankle sprain, Springer's most recent injury is his fourth of the season after strained obliques and an early-season quad injury.

Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo officially designated his outfielder as day-to-day on Friday, noting that the team would see how he felt Sunday morning before making a decision. Montoyo also said that Springer could play mainly designated hitter after returning from injury.

“We’ll see how he feels in the morning,” Montoyo said after Toronto's 3-2 win over the Tigers on Saturday.

Without Springer, the Blue Jays lineup has struggled. In the last 15 days, the Blue Jays have a team-OPS of just .694, scoring the third-fewest runs in the American league (47) and striking out three times as much as they've walked. The Jays have scored three or fewer runs in eight of their last nine games, heading into Sunday's finale in Detroit. In Springer's absence, Bo Bichette and Marcus Semien have taken most of the lead-off duties.

"We've done okay without [Springer] before," manager Charlie Montoyo said last week. "But we do really good with him in the lineup. That's a fact. Everybody's watching, everybody's hoping he gets healthy and comes back to our lineup, for sure."

Outfielder Jarrod Dyson joined the team in Detroit. With Springer slated to see significant time at DH, Dyson and Randal Grichuk should continue to start regularly in centerfield.