Double Trouble

 Simon B

One of the things I liked the most about the way the Toronto Blue Jays handled their offseason was the amount of depth that GM Ross Atkins added to this young lineup. Depth is always important to any ball club but in 2021, it has a lot more importance. 

2020 was a shortened season. But not by 20 or 30 games, it was a whole 102 games shorter than your usual Major League year. So what does this have to do with depth the year after? All of these players haven't had a full season of baseball in 2 calendar years so it's inevitable that some players are going to get hurt on the way to gearing back up to getting used to the full 162. 

Saying all that depth was always going to be a major part of the Jays success this season but what has surprised many Jays fans is the fact that they need to rely on their depth so early in the season.

The Injury Bug

Every team in the majors seems to be hit with a lot of injuries this year but the situation in Toronto (well technically Dunedin, Fla.) is a lot worse than anyone could've expected. In spring training, the Jays lost the man that was supposed to be their closer, Kirby Yates, to Tommy John surgery. That was a big blow to the bullpen for sure because they were going to need another closer to fill the void left by Yates' injury. The candidate for that job was Jordan Romano. However, the Jays got a pleasant surprise in Julian Merryweather who came into game 1 of the season and blew the Yankees away. Well, both of those guys are now on the IL (Injured List). Romano is out with right ulnar neuritis and Merryweather has a left oblique strain. So now I would think that they would leave it up to Rafael Dolis (who is usually an 8th inning guy) to be their closer for the time being.

Another important reliever, Tyler Chatwood, is out at least another couple of days with tricep soreness. Thomas Hatch has some elbow tightness, Nate Pearson has a groin injury and he probably won't be back before early May, and Ross Stripling has forearm tightness and is expected to be out until the end of the month as well.

More Than Just Pitchers

All the injuries I've mentioned are only the pitchers that are out. Some key position players are also been out. The likes of Cavan Biggio (hand soreness), Teoscar Hernandez (Covid-19 positive), and their prized offseason acquisition: George Springer, who is out with hamstring tightness.

Now, those three guys were set to be everyday players for this Jays team but with the depth that the Jays built up, other guys have stepped up in big roles. Jonathan Davis has been very solid in the outfield and he even had a great day at the plate in the first game of today's doubleheader. Rookie Josh Palacios has also shown that he's a viable candidate for being a backup option when everyone comes back.

The Wrap

As I said at the beginning, this is partly due to the shortened season last year. However, these are all soft tissue injuries. I'm no doctor so I don't want to say that the training staff isn't doing a good job but when all these injuries are happening (and they're significant injuries too) I do start to question if they shouldn't be going at things a bit differently.

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