The Blue Jays announced that George Springer has been activated from the seven-day injured list for concussion-related injuries. Outfielder Joey Loperfido was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo in the corresponding move.
Springer last played on July 28, when a wayward pitch from the Orioles’ Kade Strowd caught the Toronto slugger on the earflap of his helmet. Springer was removed from the game and was officially placed on the concussion IL a few days later, to give him some extended time to recover. A clean slate of tests earlier this week paved the way for Springer to start a Triple-A rehab assignment, and he’ll now join the Jays lineup after two games in Buffalo.
After posting underwhelming numbers in both 2023 and 2024, it seemed as though Springer was hitting a decline phase as he entered his age-35 season. Instead, he has bounced back with one of the best seasons of his 12-year career, hitting .291/.383/.506 with 18 home runs over 408 plate appearances. Only eight qualified hitters in baseball (including teammate Vladimir Guerrero Jr.) have a better wRC+ than Springer’s 148 figure.
One element to this turn-around may be Springer’s increased usage as a designated hitter, as he has already set a new career high for DH days by appearing 52 times at the position, as opposed to 45 appearances as an outfielder. It is perhaps noteworthy that Springer didn’t see any action in the outfield during his two rehab games, and it could hint that the Blue Jays will continue to lean towards using the veteran primarily as a DH down the stretch in order to keep him fresh. In any case, having Springer back in any capacity is naturally a big help to a Toronto club trying to secure its first division title since 2015.
Loperfido was the odd man out of the roster mix with Springer back, likely just because Loperfido has minor league options remaining. Performance-wise, Loperfido was very impressive since being called up in July, delivering a .358/.409/.506 slash line over 89 plate appearances. It seems likely that Loperfido will be back up at least by September 1 when the rosters expand, if another injury doesn’t earn him a quicker ticket back to the Jays’ active roster.