There’s something missing in the Toronto Blue Jays’ dugout. It’s the lack of a bouncing pre-game dancer, his arms waving about. There’s no jovial yell from the corner of the clubhouse. It’s the absence of the youthful joy radiating off a revitalised 35-year-old outfielder.
For the last 12 games, the Jays have been without George Springer while the veteran recovers from a concussion. In 2024, a week without Springer could’ve gone unnoticed. He was a below-average performer for the first time, setting career lows in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging and WAR.
A year later, he’s the team’s essential engine.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is the face of the franchise. Bo Bichette is an undeniable co-star. But Springer is the key veteran cog in the Blue Jays’ 2025 offence. After the worst campaign of his career and what seemed to be the start of his inevitable decline, Springer has been arguably the team’s best offensive player this year. Somehow, 12 seasons into his career, Springer’s back in his prime.
“It’s truly insane,” Myles Straw said. “He’s 35. You can tell he feels his body sometimes, as you should at that age, playing on turf. But the way he runs the bases, hitting for power, doing it all. It’s pretty impressive.”
When the Jays hired David Popkins last October, the new hitting coach was most excited to work with Springer. Popkins regularly watched the Houston Astros featuring the prime years of Carlos Correa, whom he coached with the Minnesota Twins, and Springer. When most people examined Springer’s 2024 season, they saw a player slowing down due to age. Popkins saw someone in need of a new approach.
The veteran outfielder’s bat speed dropped nearly a full mile per hour in 2024. His max swing speed remained the same. His big power stroke remained, but was overshadowed by a defensive approach. Springer was slowing his swing to make contact, prioritizing simple bat-to-ball when fooled on pitches or with runners in scoring position. That tactic can work in specific situations or for depth players without 39-homer power, but not for Springer.
“There’s a type of hitter,” Popkins said, “who actually does better, like swing decision and accuracy-wise, when they’re actually looking with intent. There’s another type of hitter that, when they’re doing that, the swing gets long and their decisions get worse. George is the opposite. He does better in a more aggressive mindset.”
In 2024, George Springer was just trying to make contact at the plate — an approach that did not work for him. (Kevin Sousa / Getty Images)
The Jays unlocked Springer’s aggression. Swing hard, swing for power. If he misses, there’s always another pitch to hit hard. They wanted Springer back to his past form. Instead, he’s arguably been better.
With Springer’s reformed approach, Popkins said, an early-season surge was expected. He could ambush pitches and hammer mistakes. In the first month of the 2025 season, Springer had 10 extra-base hits in 28 games and hit .300. Eventually, Popkins expected, fatigue would hit, and the league would adjust.
Opponents stopped giving Springer as many first-pitch fastballs in May. In July, lefties went heavy on changeups and right-handers fed him sinkers. But the falloff never came. Springer is hitting over .290, and his July average and OPS were the highest of his season. He’s on pace for the second-best OPS+ of his career (144), leading all qualified Blue Jays.
During the first six years of Springer’s big-league career, he never hit fewer than 15 homers or posted an OPS+ below 114. He made three All-Star teams and won World Series MVP in 2017. The 2025 iteration of Springer, Popkins said, is an evolved version of that player. Springer’s never hit balls this hard, on average, walked this much or reached the ideal launch angle this consistently.
“This is maybe the best version of him ever in his career,” Popkins said. “And he’s doing it at his age, which is pretty phenomenal.”
When Straw first cracked the big leagues in 2018, he joined an Astros team filled with current and future leaders — Correa, Alex Bregman, Martín Maldonado, Justin Verlander, Jose Altuve and more. Springer, at the time, was a sort of outfield captain. Seven years later, Springer is essentially the same guy, Straw said, connecting the clubhouse and setting a tone. But, somehow, he has even more energy. He leads like a 21-year-old trapped in a 35-year-old’s body. This year, Straw said, he’s playing like it, too.
“A lot of guys are shutting down at 35,” Straw said. “Not George.”
As Daulton Varsho spent two lengthy IL stints away from the team, Springer Facetimed him every day. The talks bounced across topics — baseball, life and family. Springer always updated Varsho on the dynamics of the clubhouse, breaking down how the group was coming together, how new guys fit in and why the Jays were climbing the standings.
With Varsho back with the Jays and Springer on the injured list, the calls continue, even from minor-league cities, as the veteran awaits a rehab stint. But Varsho doesn’t need those video calls to see his friend’s face each day. During afternoon team meetings, the Jays huddle around monitors to review successful base running plays and decisions to replicate. Springer is featured more than any other player.
Springer often has a wide grin on his face while sprinting around the bases. As he snags an extra base or rounds from first to home, the veteran yells and huffs. It sets the standard for the rest of Toronto’s roster; this year, this is a better baserunning team. But it also captures Springer’s “joy of enjoying baseball,” Varsho said. It’s Springer at his best, once again.
“You see a lot of Houston George back in himself,” Varsho said. “Maybe better.”
(Top photo: Cole Burston / Getty Images)