Blue Jays' Daulton Varsho: Needs 5-to-8 rehab games
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Varsho (hamstring) will play in a rehab game with Low-A Dunedin on Friday and is expected to need 5-to-8 rehab games before being activated from the 10-day injured list, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Friday's appearance will be Varsho's second minor-league rehab outing. He's expected to play 3-to-5 innings in the outfield during the contest. Varsho is likely to have his assignment transferred to Triple-A Buffalo sometime next week. If he sticks to the 5-to-8-game timeline, Varsho would likely be back before August.
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Blue Jays' Daulton Varsho: Beginning assignment Monday
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Varsho (hamstring) is slated to begin a rehab assignment in the Florida Complex League on Monday, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Varsho landed on the injured list June 1 with a strained left hamstring, and a setback he suffered in late June has caused his stay on the IL to run a bit longer than originally anticipated. After running the bases multiple times this week without any issues, he's now been given the go-ahead to return to competition. The Blue Jays haven't committed to a target date for the 29-year-old's return, though there's a chance he'll be ready for the start of the second half.
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Blue Jays' Daulton Varsho: Runs bases Monday
Rotowire
Varsho (hamstring) ran the bases Monday and will do so again Wednesday, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Varsho should be cleared to begin a rehab assignment after that, although the Blue Jays have not yet confirmed as much. The outfielder had a setback with his left hamstring in late June, but he has progressed well since then and could be back at the start of the second half, or shortly after.
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Blue Jays' Daulton Varsho: Close to rehab stint
Rotowire
Varsho (hamstring) is expected to begin a rehab assignment within the next few days, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports.
The center fielder has been on the shelf since May 31, but he's been ramping up his running over the last week and appears close to being ready for game action. A return before the All-Star break remains a possibility for Varsho, who was slashing .207/.240/.543 with eight homers in 24 contests prior to straining his hamstring.
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Blue Jays' Daulton Varsho: Resumes running after setback
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Varsho (hamstring) resumed running in the outfield Wednesday, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Varsho had previously experienced a minor setback while running the bases Monday. An MRI showed some scar tissue irritation but did not reveal any structural issues, so the hope is that the outfielder will be cleared to run the bases again soon. Varsho had been nearing a rehab assignment before the setback, so he should be ready to play in minor-league games soon if all goes well with his running program.
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Blue Jays' Daulton Varsho: Experiences setback
Rotowire
Varsho reported tightness in his hamstring while running the bases Monday, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Varsho has been on the injured list since the start of June with a left hamstring strain. The Blue Jays will now ease up on his running progression following his latest setback, which will likely delay the start of his rehab assignment by a few days. A timeline for his return to Toronto will likely become clearer once he begins playing minor-league games.
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Blue Jays' Daulton Varsho: Rehab assignment pending
Rotowire
Varsho (hamstring) is expected to begin playing in minor-league games sometime next week, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reported Friday.
Varsho resumed baseball activities June 6 but hadn't been cleared to run. He's now approaching clearance to play in games and should kick off a rehab assignment next week. Varsho is recovering from a Grade 1 hamstring strain he sustained on the final day of May.
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Blue Jays' Daulton Varsho: Resumes baseball activities
Rotowire
Varsho (hamstring) is hitting in the batting cages and playing catch, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reported Friday.
Varsho suffered a Grade 1 hamstring strain Saturday and was given a week-to-week recovery timeline. While it's encouraging to see he's begun baseball activities, Varsho hasn't been cleared to run quite yet.
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Blue Jays' Daulton Varsho: Recovering from Grade 1 strain
Rotowire
Manager John Schneider said prior to Sunday's 8-4 win over the Athletics that Varsho's left hamstring injury is a Grade 1 strain, and the Blue Jays are viewing the outfielder as week-to-week, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.
Though Varsho's hamstring strain is of the mild variety, the week-to-week label means that he's not a lock to return from the 10-day injured list when first eligible June 11. Schneider mentioned Nathan Lukes and Myles Straw as the primary candidates to see reps in center field while Varsho is on the shelf, and Jonatan Clase, Alan Roden and Davis Schneider may also get more opportunities to make starts at either of the corner-outfield spots while Anthony Santander (shoulder) is on the IL.
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Blue Jays' Daulton Varsho: Heads to IL with hamstring strain
Rotowire
The Blue Jays placed Varsho on the 10-day injured list Sunday due to a left hamstring strain.
Toronto initially attributed Varsho's early departure from Saturday's 8-7 win over the Athletics to hamstring discomfort, but follow-up testing confirmed that the outfielder had suffered a strain. The severity of the strain isn't known, but even if it's of the mild variety, Varsho may not be ready to immediately return from the IL when first eligible June 11. Myles Straw will get the starting nod in center field in Sunday's series finale, but Nathan Lukes, Alan Roden and George Springer could also get reps at the position while Varsho is on the shelf.
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Blue Jays' Daulton Varsho: Diagnosed with hamstring injury
Rotowire
Varsho was removed from Saturday's game against the Athletics due to left hamstring discomfort.
Varsho injured his left hamstring while attempting to stretch a double into a triple in the third inning. The 28-year-old outfielder will undergo further tests to determine the severity of the injury. Myles Straw entered the game at the top of the fourth, and he would be in line for more starts in the outfield if Varsho were to be sidelined for an extended period of time.
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Blue Jays' Daulton Varsho: Exits game due to leg injury
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Varsho was removed in the third inning of Saturday's game against the Athletics due to a left leg injury, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.
Varsho pulled up grabbing his left leg while attempting to stretch a double into a triple in the third inning. He was helped off the field to the clubhouse, and an update on the severity of Varsho's injury should be provided during or shortly after Saturday's contest once he undergoes further testing. Myles Straw has taken over in center field for the Blue Jays following Varsho's departure.
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Blue Jays' Daulton Varsho: Launches eighth homer
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Varsho went 3-for-5 with a double and a solo home run in Monday's win over the Rangers.
The center fielder took Jacob deGrom deep in the first inning, hooking a slider down the right-field line for his eighth homer in just 20 games. Varsho's power display since recovering from shoulder surgery and making a belated season debut in late April has been impressive, but it comes with a .218 batting average, .238 OBP and what would be a career-worst 31.0 percent strikeout rate.
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Blue Jays' Daulton Varsho: Day off Sunday
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Varsho is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rays.
Varsho looks to be getting a routine breather Sunday after starting each of Toronto's last eight games. Myles Straw will replace Varsho in center field and bat ninth.
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Blue Jays' Daulton Varsho: Belts grand slam in easy win
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Varsho went 1-for-4 with a grand slam in Wednesday's 14-0 win over the Padres.
It was the seventh long ball already this year by Varsho, who has played just 16 games after missing the start of the season due to a shoulder injury. While the outfielder is batting only .217, he has three doubles, 17 RBI, one stolen base and 11 runs scored over 60 at-bats in addition to the homers. The lefty-hitting Varsho is hitless in nine at-bats against southpaws, but he boasts a 1.003 OPS across 51 at-bats versus right-handers.
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Blue Jays' Daulton Varsho: Big jump in exit velocity
Rotowire
Varsho's average exit velocity has increased from 86.1 mph in 2024 to 94.1 mph this season heading into Sunday's game thanks to tweaks he made to his swing mechanics this offseason, Mitch Bannon of the Athletic reports.
That's an absolutely stunning increase in how hard Varsho is hitting the ball. The center fielder was in the seventh percentile in AEV last year; this year he'd be in 95th percentile if he had enough plate appearances to qualify for the Statcast leaderboard. The added force has led to six homers and a .404 ISO through his first 14 games, and while that pace is unsustainable, Varsho seems poised to take a run at the career-high 27 home runs he slugged in 2022 despite the fact that he missed the first month of the current season while recovering from shoulder surgery.
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Blue Jays' Daulton Varsho: Slugs sixth homer
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Varsho went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Friday's loss to the Tigers.
The center fielder got the Blue Jays on the board in the sixth inning by swatting a Jack Flaherty fastball over the fence in left-center field, but the home team was already in a 4-0 hole at that point. Varsho has been supplying big-time power since making his belated season debut in late April, slashing .227/.265/.659 with six homers and 13 RBI in only 12 games.
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Blue Jays' Daulton Varsho: Getting breather Thursday
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Varsho is absent from the lineup for Thursday's game against the Rays.
The Blue Jays have been careful not to overload Varsho since he returned from the injured list April 29, as this is his fourth day off since that date and he also missed an additional game with lower-back tightness. He should be back in the lineup Friday versus the Tigers. Myles Straw is in center field and batting eighth Thursday.
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Blue Jays' Daulton Varsho: Posts two-homer day in loss
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Varsho went 2-for-5 with two home runs and four RBI in Tuesday's loss to the Rays.
Varsho had a solo home run in the fourth and then a three-run blast in the eighth to put the Blue Jays ahead 7-6. Both long balls had an exit velocity over 113 mph, which were the hardest-hit balls in Varsho's career. He now has five home runs and 11 RBI in 10 games since his season debut April 29, and six of his eight hits on the season so far have gone for extra bases.
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Blue Jays' Daulton Varsho: Checking out of lineup Sunday
Rotowire
Varsho is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mariners.
Since being activated from the 10-day injured list April 29 after completing his recovery from offseason shoulder surgery, Varsho has yet to start in more than three consecutive games. That trend will continue Sunday, as Myles Straw gets the nod in center while Varsho rests after starting Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Over his first nine games of the season with Toronto, Varsho is slashing .194/.250/.516 with three home runs, one stolen base, seven RBI and four runs.
