The Toronto Blue Jays are calling on one of their spring standouts to fill in for an injured George Springer.
Veteran Eloy Jiménez has been selected to Toronto’s major-league roster, and Springer has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left great toe fracture, per a team announcement on Sunday.
Jiménez will serve as the team’s designated hitter and bat seventh in Sunday’s series finale against the Minnesota Twins (1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+).
Ernie Clement will take over in the Blue Jays’ leadoff spot.
Springer, 36, fouled a ball off his foot in the third inning of Saturday’s loss to the Minnesota Twins, but completed his at-bat, grounding out to third base.
Manager John Schneider said Springer had an X-ray at the stadium, then left to undergo a CT scan.
“George has played through stuff a lot since he’s been here. I don’t want a toe to compromise anything else,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider told reporters Sunday of the IL stint. “He’s got one speed that he plays at, and we can weather the storm with him and other guys for now.”
Jiménez will take his spot on the roster after impressing during spring training with the Blue Jays.
The 29-year-old carried an .857 OPS with two home runs in 18 Grapefruit League contests.
While it wasn’t enough to crack Toronto’s opening-day roster, Jiménez began the year in triple-A Buffalo, where he slashed .257/.372/.371 with one homer in 11 games.
Jiménez began his big-league career with the Chicago White Sox in 2019, finishing fourth in AL Rookie of the Year voting after smacking 31 homers.
Springer was batting .185 with two home runs and six RBIs. He was a big part of Toronto’s run to the 2025 World Series, hitting .309 with 32 homers and 89 RBIs in the regular season and the decisive homer in Game 7 of the ALCS against Seattle.
“It will look a little bit different if George is not in there, obviously,” Schneider said Saturday. “We’ll kind of figure it out day by day if he’s not there.”
— with files from the Associated Press
