Blue Jays: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. suffers oblique injury

The team estimates that Guerrero Jr. will need three weeks until he can resume game activity, recent reports say.

According to Hazel Mae of Sportsnet, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has suffered a grade 1 strain in his left oblique, effectively sidelining him for three weeks. Rob Longley of The Toronto Sun adds that Guerrero sustained the injury in a game on March 8 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Finally, Longley points out that the injury means that Guerrero will miss the two-game exhibition series in Montreal.

As many note, this injury likely takes care of the service time issue surrounding the prodigious young Guerrero. Since it will take at least three weeks before he resumes regular in-game activity, he will possibly spend some time in Buffalo before ultimately getting called up.

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Of course, the three-week timeline is just an estimate by the team. During the game on March 8, Guerrero went 0-for-3 with a walk. The game was a split-squad contest and the Blue Jays ended up winning by a score of 5-2 at Dunedin Stadium.

For the spring, Guerrero Jr., 19, has slashed .211/.250/.316 in 19 at-bats, scoring one run and adding a single RBI. He has four hits and has appeared primarily at third base.

In 2018, he slashed a stupid .381/.437/.636 in 95 games with New Hampshire, Buffalo and Dunedin, adding 20 home runs, 78 RBI and 29 doubles to go along with wRC+ totals of 260, 203, and 175 at High-A, Double-A, and Triple-A, respectively.

This is unfortunate timing for both the Blue Jays and Guerrero Jr., to say the very least. Though there was a significant amount of controversy surrounding the team’s manipulation of his service time, the injury surely doesn’t help anyone’s cause.

Regardless, Guerrero Jr.’s health in undoubtedly the most important thing, and the team is wise to take things slow during his rehab. More to come.