Daulton Varsho underwent rotator cuff surgery in late September, with the expectation that he would likely start the season on the 10-day injured list, even if his absence wouldn’t stretch too far into April. That timeline isn’t much clearer now that Spring Training is well underway, but Varsho logged his first Grapefruit League action yesterday, going 1-for-3 with a homer while acting as the Blue Jays’ designated hitter in a 10-7 win over the Tigers. Getting back to regular hitting action is certainly a good sign for Varsho, and Jays manager John Schneider also provided reporters (including MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson) with some updates on Varsho’s defensive progress.
“There’s more boxes to check, like throwing to the bases on back-to-back days,” Schneider said. “This was another good day for him, throwing out to 120 feet, so I think it’s more about how he’s rebounding from those once he does start throwing to the bases and getting into games….We’re trying to take this in three- or four-day buckets. He’s progressing well. I don’t want to put anything past him or say [Opening Day is] not a definite possibility. It will go right down to the end as long as he doesn’t have any setbacks. If he’s there, great. If he’s not, we know he’s going to be soon.”
The defense is the biggest factor in Varsho’s recovery, as the Gold Glove winner is one of baseball’s best defensive players. Matheson figures Joey Loperfido is the top candidate to fill in for Varsho in center field if an IL stint is indeed required, though these early results provide some optimism that Varsho could be ready to go for March 27.
More from around the AL East….
- Brayan Bello continues to feel confident about breaking camp with the Red Sox, as the right-hander threw his first bullpen session of Spring Training yesterday following some shoulder soreness. “The trainers are telling me that I’m right on track as long as I just keep doing my work that I’ve been doing,” Bello told MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith and other reporters, adding that only threw at around 70-75% of his capacity during the “very light session.” An exact timeline hasn’t been established, but Bello figures he’ll get a couple more bullpen sessions before getting into his first game activity of the spring. Obviously the Sox will continue to watch Bello closely and a season-opening IL stint hasn’t been ruled out, though Bello said Friday…
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