Blue Jays Place All-Star Outfielder on Injured List

A bad break for the Toronto Blue Jays, who currently sit in 1st place in the American League East Division, as they've lost the services of All-Star outfielder Teoscar Hernandez with an oblique strain.

Re Teoscar Hernandez, Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo: “You never know with obliques — but I don’t think it’s as bad as we thought.”

Plan is to fill Hernandez’s absence with rotation of Raimel Tapia & Brad Zimmer. George Springer could shift over to right when Zimmer’s playing

— Arden Zwelling (@ArdenZwelling) April 14, 2022

Hernandez has been placed on the 10-day IL, though it's unknown how long he'll actually be out. As noted by Jays reporter Arden Zwelling, manager Charlie Montoyo said “You never know with obliques — but I don’t think it’s as bad as we thought.”

The injury occurred in the 6th inning of Toronto's game Wednesdasy night at Yankee Stadium, as Hernandez had difficulty trying to run out a ground ball. He suffered a similar injury in 2020, and was only out for the 10-day minimum. 

The 29-year-old was off to another strong start this season, batting .313 with a .961 OPS, a home run and three RBIs. Last season, he was an All-Star for the first time, hitting .296 with 32 HR and 116 RBIs. 

The Jays earlier this week lost the services of starting catcher Danny Jansen for several weeks, and now will have to make do without their clean-up hitter as well.

Raimel Tapia and Bradley Zimmer will help fill the outfield spot in Hernandez's absence, while they've called up utility infielder Gosuke Katoh to take his roster spot.

Photo Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports