Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. exited Friday’s game against the Chicago Cubs in the sixth inning with an apparent back injury.
Guerrero, 27, led off the top of the sixth inning and popped up an 0-2 curve ball from Cubs pitcher Ben Brown to first base.
The five-time all-star immediately grabbed his lower back while running to first base and left the game.
The Blue Jays were trailing the Cubs 7-2 at the time of the injury.
Guerrero has been hitting consistently at the plate with a .279 batting average this season but has struggled for power with only four home runs and 30 RBI in 71 games.
He also missed two games in June due to lower-back tightness.
Signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2015, Guerrero has spent his entire eight-season career with the Blue Jays, slashing .288/.366/.487 with 187 home runs and 621 RBI.
The 6-foot infielder led the team to the World Series in 2025 after batting .397 with eight home runs and 15 RBI in the playoffs and was named the American League Championship Series MVP.
His best offensive regular season came in 2021 hitting .311 with 48 home runs and 123 RBI, leading him to finish second in AL MVP voting.
Toronto sits in third place in the AL East with a 37-38 record and are nine games back of the New York Yankees for first place.
