The Toronto Blue Jays could be welcoming a big bat back to the lineup in the coming days, as manager John Schneider said on Friday that George Springer is “maybe even just a day or two” away from returning from a fractured toe.
Springer, who earned a Silver Slugger award for designated hitters a year ago, fractured his big toe on his left foot when he fouled a pitch off his foot in a game against the Minnesota Twins on Apr. 11. He was placed on the Injured List a day later.
Speaking on Power Alley on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM, Schneider detailed Springer’s recovery process as he approaches the two-week mark of his rehabilitation.
“George is getting close, he’s been hitting for about five six days, last couple days he’s been running,” Schneider said. “[Thursday] was probably his best day hitting, so I think today we’re just going to continue to try to ramp it up.
The Blue Jays (10-14) have sorely missed having Springer in the lineup. The team has scored three or fewer runs in six of 10 games with Springer out of the lineup, and owns a 4-6 record over that stretch overall.
Springer is one of many Blue Jays hitters to get off to a slow start this season, as he’s currently hitting .185 with two home runs and a .661 on-base plus slugging in the 14 games he’s played. However, he is coming off a brilliant campaign in which he hit .309 and led the team with 32 home runs in 2025.
“It’s going to be a little bit tricky for him for a couple of weeks, it’s going to be... kind of a pain in the toe, if you will, for a couple weeks until it fully heals,” Schneider said, laughing.
“But he’s a gamer, he’s a grinder, I think it should just be a couple more days or even maybe a day or two, hopefully, to where as long as he’s facing some live pitching and hitting some [velocity] out of the [pitching machine], turn around the bases, we’re going to hit ‘go’ as quick as we can.”
The Blue Jays are also anticipating the impending return of another key piece from last year’s run to the World Series, as pitcher Trey Yesavage is nearing his season debut after starting the year on the Injured List with a shoulder impingement.
Toronto opens up a three-game series with the Cleveland Guardians on Friday.
