Blue Jays: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. dodges injury, leaves game

Blue Jays Twitter was momentarily sent into a state of shock when a video surfaced of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. leaving Tuesday night’s game with an apparent groin injury.

Let’s face it, we’re at a time right now when anything, and I mean anything related to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is massive news. No matter what he does, it makes the news. This was evident Tuesday night when Guerrero was seen leaving field holding his groin in this video.

In the seventh inning of the Bisons’ tilt against the Rochester Red Wings, Vlad reached second on an error by the Wings’ second baseman and was promptly lifted in favour of pinch runner Roemon Fields. The wincing Guerrero removed his belt as he walked into the Bisons dugout.

However, speculation was quickly dispelled by Bisons radio voice and media relations manager Pat Malacaro on Twitter, who prudently noted that Vlad’s removal from the ballgame was planned ahead of time and that him leaving the game was not as a result of an injury. The Bisons were playing the first of a doubleheader, and Guerrero was scheduled to rest during the second game no matter what took place in the first.

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Malacaro also wrote that the move to take Guerrero out of the game was strategic, given the fact that Fields (an outfielder with 23 stolen bases on the year) is much speedier on the basepaths than Vlad. Shortly after the completion of the first game, he was seen jogging in the outfield in full uniform before the second tilt got underway.

While this development is likely meaningless, it still serves as a powerful reminder that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is just as incredibly important as we believe he is. One simple roadblock in his minor league career instantly causes worries and concerns within the fanbase. It’s inevitable that a young baseball player will occasionally get banged up, and we as fans will have to accept that.

Since being promoted to Triple-A on July 31, he’s slashed .349/.437/.581 with five home runs, 13 RBI and five doubles. With nine strikeouts in 86 at-bats, the young Guerrero has been held hitless just seven times in 24 games.