Blue Jays Slugger Nearing Return After Offseason Shoulder Surgery
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The Toronto Blue Jays were hoping Daulton Varsho would be ready for Opening Day following his shoulder surgery that took place this past September.
That didn't happen, and he began the 2025 campaign on the injured list.
Instead of rushing Varsho back, the Blue Jays decided to take the long route, making sure his shoulder was 100% ready once they knew he wouldn't be back for the opener.
Now, it looks like the slugger is getting closer to a return.
Per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet, Varsho is going to play in extended spring training games next week where he'll be throwing. If everything goes well, he'll go on a rehab assignment to Triple-A Buffalo.
Getting the 28-year-old back in the mix will be huge for Toronto.
In his absence, the Blue Jays have played Myles Straw and Nathan Lukes in center.
The former has performed well on offense, going 7-for-20 across his nine games, while the latter has struggled with a 3-for-19 showing in that same time.
Once Varsho is able to return, he will bring another element of power to the lineup.
Since being acquired by Toronto from the Arizona Diamondbacks ahead of the 2023 campaign, he's hit 20 and 18 homers while driving in 61 and 58 runs during his two seasons with the team.
While Varsho isn't necessarily a plus on offense outside of his power threat with just a career 96 OPS+ that's dropped to 90 in his two years with the Blue Jays, he provides elite defense in the field.
His defensive bWAR is 8.0 for his career, and he led the American League in that metric last season with a 3.0 that helped him secure a Gold Glove.
Varsho's recovery will be something to monitor, because if everything goes well during his return to game action and he heads to Triple-A for his rehab assignment, then he'll be that much closer to making is 2025 debut.
