Varsho could return to Blue Jays during next home stand; Manoah continues progress
Published
Two members of the Toronto Blue Jays are continuing to progress in their injury rehab, with outfielder Daulton Varsho nearing a return later this week.
MLB.com's Keegan Matheson reported on Monday that Varsho is expected to play a couple more games at Triple-A and is likely to rejoin the Blue Jays when they return home after their current road trip on August 1.
Varsho has been on the Injured List since June 1 with a hamstring injury. He started a rehab assignment earlier in July, and has hit three home runs in 12 games across three different levels in the minors this year.
The 29-year-old Gold Glove winner hit just .207 in 24 games earlier in the year, but launched eight home runs with 20 runs batted in.
Varsho missed the start of the season as he recovered from offseason shoulder surgery, and made his season debut on April 29.
Starting pitcher Alek Manoah also received a positive update on Monday, as Matheson reports he threw 45 pitches in a simulated game on Saturday and will throw one more game in Florida before potentially moving up to a higher league in his rehab.
Manoah has been out all season after he underwent elbow surgery in June of last season.
The 27-year-old pitched in only five games a season ago before he was put on the IL to have the surgery done. He finished with a 3.70 earned-run average over 24.1 innings.
In Manoah's last full season in 2022, the Homestead, Fl. native finished third in American League Cy Young voting after pitching to a 2.24 ERA in 31 starts, with 180 strikeouts over 196.2 innings.
The Blue Jays enter play on Monday with the best record in the major leagues at 63-43, five-and-a-half games ahead of the New York Yankees for the lead in the AL East.