Blue Jays: Outfielder George Springer will not play in the All-Star Game

Blue Jays outfielder George Springer has decided to not suit up at the upcoming All-Star game in order to rest his elbow as reported by The Athletic’s Kaitlyn McGrath.

The Jays’ outfielder has been bothered by right elbow discomfort dating back to mid-June. While Springer did not need to go to the IL, he did miss a few games to recover and has now decided to take some additional time off away from the All-Star game in order to get back to 100% health. This is a move that makes sense given his previous injury history and I can see why he has decided to rest instead of partaking in the festivities.

With three All-Star appearances to his name back when he was with the Houston Astros, Springer just missed out on being named an American League starter but was instead named in a reserve capacity. The righty-batter currently sports a .250/.329/.483 slash line through 79 games and has 17 home runs, 40 RBI, and a .812 OPS on the year. He also ranks fifth among AL centre fielders with his 2.2 fWAR on the year and sits fourth in terms of OPS, SLG, and OBP.

Blue Jays outfielder George Springer has elected to not play at the upcoming All-Star Game in order to rest his troubled elbow.

With Springer electing to not play in the Midsummer Classic, the Blue Jays will have three representatives for the weekend down in Los Angeles. Alejandro Kirk (catcher) and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (first base) were both voted to start the game while Alek Manoah also made the squad in the starting rotation. Teammate Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was a runner-up alongside Springer for a starting role but missed out on that plus in a reserve capacity as well. The MLB will announce Springer’s replacement sometime later today.

This weekend is huge for baseball fans, as the MLB Draft is set to get underway on Sunday, July 17th followed by the Home Run Derby on the 18th and the All-Star Game set for July 19th on Tuesday.