Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins provides rehab updates on a slew of injured players

With much of the main focus of the current Toronto Blue Jays offseason being on what changes and moves that they have already made and will make ahead of the upcoming season, many may have forgotten about some of their key injured players that will also be integral of the team’s success in 2025. 

On Tuesday, Jays GM Ross Atkins was finally able to provide some valuable rehab updates on those slew of injured players that included shortstop Bo Bichette, infielder Will Wagner, outfielder Daulton Varsho and pitcher Alek Manoah, as per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. The good news was that none of them have been “behind schedule”. The not so good news was that their health statuses for the start of the 2025 season varied.

Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins provides rehab updates on a slew of injured players

For both Bichette and Wagner, who will potentially make up the middle part of the Jays’ infield next season, they are right on track to be ready for Opening Day. Bichette is recovering from surgery to repair a right middle finger fracture that he suffered while fielding a ground ball during the pregame on September 18. He will be looking to bounce back from a career-worst season in 2024 in which he batted a dismal .225 with a .598 OPS, along with just 4 home runs and 31 RBI in 81 games played.

As for Wagner, he is coming off season-ending knee surgery on September 19 to resolve a nagging issue that actually plagued him for much of the past season. Despite that surprising reveal, he somehow managed to still put together a strong 2024 minor league campaign. His impressive performance eventually led to his MLB debut with Toronto shortly after coming over from the Houston Astros at the trade deadline. In his brief big league stint with the Jays prior to his injury, Wagner batted a stellar .305 with a .788 OPS, 2 home runs and 11 RBI in 24 games of action. With his knee all cleaned up now, Jays’ manager John Schneider expects Wagner to generate even more power at the plate heading into next season to make him even more scary going forward, as per MLB.com

For Manoah, he has been “off to a good start” in his rehab throwing program, which is a good sign for any pitcher after coming off a major procedure. His 2024 season ended prematurely in June when he had to undergo season-ending right UCL reconstructive surgery on June 17. Manoah was in the middle of a bounce back year at the time after a nightmarish 2023 that saw him put up career-worst numbers across the board while being sent down to the minors on multiple occasions. This past season, he had posted a solid 3.70 ERA, 1.03 WHIP with 26 strikeouts in 24.1 innings pitched over five starts prior to his injury. Manoah won’t be ready for the start of the 2025 regular season, but is likely on track to return at some point during the upcoming year.

Finally, the rehab update on Varsho wasn’t as rosy based on what his original timeline for recovery was. His 2024 season ended a week early when he underwent rotator cuff surgery on his right shoulder. With such a procedure, it was expected that his rehab process would begin slowly and likely stretch across the entire offseason. But it was predicted that he would hoepfully be ready by Day 1 of Spring Training. However, with Atkins’ latest reveal, he stated that although it is possible that Varsho could return by Opening Day, but in reality “that could be unrealistic”, meaning he will likely need some more time to return to 100%. The Jays will definitely need their defensive stalwart to be in top form after capturing his first ever Gold Glove in 2024. Without Varsho in charge, the Jays could be at a huge disadvantage from a defensive standpoint in their outfield to start the 2025 season.