The Blue Jays have placed first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on the seven-day concussion IL. In a corresponding move, they selected outfielder Daz Cameron to their major league roster. To make room for Cameron on the 40-man, Toronto designated right-hander Lazaro Estrada for assignment.
Guerrero exited early on Friday after crashing into Yankees shortstop George Lombard Jr. on a slide at third base. Manager John Schneider initially called it a “precautionary” decision, telling reporters (including Gregory Strong of the Canadian Press) that Guerrero had “a little bit of a headache.” The six-time All-Star went for testing today, and the results pointed to something at least a little more serious. He will now be out for at least the next week.
The Blue Jays’ franchise player has been mired in an unusually long slump. He finished April batting .354 with a .907 OPS and 158 wRC+. Since then, he’s hit .230 with a .616 OPS and 74 wRC+ in 84 games. While his bat speed and contact rate remain as high as ever, Guerrero hasn’t been impacting the baseball the way he typically can. He owns a 43% hard-hit rate compared to a 49.6% career average. His barrel rate is below league average for the first time since his rookie campaign in 2019. Perhaps the defining statistic of his season is that he’s yet to hit a home run in Toronto; he only has seven homers on the year, and all of them have come on the road.
Guerrero’s poor performance is one of the biggest reasons why the reigning AL champions rank second-last in the majors in runs scored and wRC+. Even with such a disappointing offense, Toronto is only one game out of a Wild Card berth right now. Yet, it’s hard to imagine this team getting back in the playoff picture without Guerrero busting out of his slump. So, despite his recent struggles, the Blue Jays will hope Guerrero can pass his concussion tests and return to their lineup as quickly as possible.
More to come…