The Toronto Blue Jays are firing on all cylinders, and that’s usually a great thing, but it’s tricky when you have to decide who to remove from the roster.
On Saturday, the Blue Jays activated outfielder George Springer from the seven-day concussion injured list. For the most part, that’s great news, as Springer’s resurgence has given Toronto a huge lift this season.
However, someone also had to be removed from the roster, and no one was performing poorly enough for that decision to be anything close to obvious.
So the Blue Jays had to simply send down the player who stood to lose the most playing time upon Springer’s return, and it appears that player was Joey Loperfido.
The only problem? Loperfido, who still has only 111 major league games under his belt, was excelling in a small sample, batting .358 with a .915 OPS in 30 games. Manager John Schneider described the pain of breaking the news to the 26-year-old outfielder.
“At this point, there’s not really a person deserving of being optioned to the Minors or sent down,” Schneider said, per Keegan Matheson of MLB.com. “He understood that. He got that. Joey handled it like a pro.
“He’s obviously bummed, but he understood that it’s where we’re at. It’s definitely a tough one, especially because what he’s been working on has translated up here.”
Loperfido, who came to the Blue Jays in the trade that sent pitcher Yusei Kikuchi to the Houston Astros last year, is still in the process of establishing himself as a big leaguer.
Toronto’s outfield picture is crowded, with Nathan Lukes and Davis Schneider performing well of late, Springer factoring in as a right fielder and designated hitter, Anthony Santander eventually returning, and Daulton Varsho and Myles Straw playing stellar defense.
All Loperfido can do for now is go back to Triple-A Buffalo and keep hitting the way he was for the big-league club. But in a league where every opportunity could be your last, it’s definitely a tough pill to swallow.
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