Blue Jays: How can they replace Teoscar Hernandez?

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 30: Teoscar Hernandez #37 of the Toronto Blue Jays celebrates after hitting a home run in the eighth inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on July 30, 2020 in Washington, DC, United States. The Blue Jays played as the home team due to their stadium situation and the Canadian governmentÕs policy on COVID-19. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 30: Teoscar Hernandez #37 of the Toronto Blue Jays celebrates after hitting a home run in the eighth inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on July 30, 2020 in Washington, DC, United States. The Blue Jays played as the home team due to their stadium situation and the Canadian governmentÕs policy on COVID-19. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 5
Next
Blue Jays
TORONTO, ON – SEPTEMBER 28: Teoscar Hernandez #37 of the Toronto Blue Jays rounds third base as he hits a solo home run during first inning of their MLB game against the Tampa Bay Rays Rogers Centre on September 28, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images) /

Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Teoscar Hernandez is down with an injury so where do they go from here?

News just came out that Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Teoscar Hernandez is heading for an MRI as he suffered a possible rib injury as he was swinging a bat in the 9-8 loss to the Boston Red Sox.

While MRI results have yet to be disclosed, the team is saying that it’s serious and that he’ll be out for an extended period of time. It is inevitable that Hernandez will be placed on the 10 day IL.

This is unfortunate news as Hernandez has been a key contributor to the Blue Jays offence so far this season. In 39 games, he was slashing .308/.358/.637 with an OPS of .995 while trailing only Mike Trout for the lead in home runs in the American League with 14. He also had an identical 27 runs and RBIs while swiping five bags and also getting six assists from the outfield.

The regular season comes to a conclusion on September 27th and if the injury is as bad as the team is saying it is, there wouldn’t be much time for Hernandez to return before the season ends. This would be a serious blow to the Jays playoff hopes who are currently just holding onto the 8th and final playoff spot in the AL.

Charlie Montoyo has a few options on his hands that he can use in order to replace the playing time of Hernandez. While his production will be hard to replicate from any player, the Jays do have some options in regards to playing time.