Blue Jays Get Both Positive and Negative Injury Updates Heading Into Second Half
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The Toronto Blue Jays are facing a challenge as they battle in a tightly contested American League East division because of the plethora of injury issues they have.
Mitch Bannon of The Athletic laid out a long list of updates, with some key players still dealing with issues at this stage of the season.
The Blue Jays have three starting pitchers still on injured list -- Alex Manoah, Paxton Schultz and Bowden Francis.
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On the positive side of the update, Schultz is preparing to throw in Triple-A and Manoah will start his next rehabilitation assignment on Sunday with Dunedin where they are aiming for him to pitch two full innings.
Francis, on the other hand, was shut down for at least another 10 days as his shoulder “felt cranky”.
Yimi Garcia has been a solid reliever for Toronto this season with a 3.86 ERA across 22 outings. But it appearas like he is going to miss more time.
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In an effort to return from an ankle injury that currently has him on the injured list, he felt ulnar nerve symptoms -- something he dealt with last year -- that now has him getting further evaluated.
Nick Sandlin has started to feel better after dealing with an injury to his forearm, and he is ready to start playing catch, which is a great sign for him taking steps to returning to the mound.
Daulton Varsho and Anthony Santander received some updates, too.
Varsho seems closer to returning first, since he played in a rehab game with Dunedin on Friday. But it seems like he will still need some time to get back, with Bannon stating five to seven rehab games.
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Santander is heading to Toronto for a visit with the team doctors to get a plan in place for his shoulder injury, with the most concerning part of his update stating he has yet to swing a bat.
Andres Gimenez is doing his best to get back to second base. He’s been hitting in the cage and doing hand activation drills.
The Blue Jays begin their second half of the season at home against the San Francisco Giants, and despite all these injuries, they will look to keep their momentum rolling.
For more Blue Jays news, head over to Blue Jays On SI.
Maddy Dickens resides in Loveland, Colorado. She grew up with two older brothers, where their lives revolved around sports. She earned a master's degree in business management from Tarleton State University while simultaneously playing basketball and competing in rodeo at the collegiate level. She successfully parlayed a reserve national championship into a professional rodeo career and now stays involved in upper-level athletics by writing for On SI on several different MLB teams' pages, along with some NCAA sites.