5 Blue Jays that need to step up soon to avoid being trade deadline sellers

George Springer

As one of the main veteran leaders on the team for the past three seasons prior to this year, George Springer often let his bat do the talking as he led by example to help power the Jays’ offense to elite levels. Despite running into some injury issues in his first two years with the club, Springer still proved that he could be a huge difference maker when healthy, averaging close to 30 home runs and 100 RBI over a 162-game schedule for each season.

However, some red flags were raised in 2023 when he had an uncharacteristic down year compared to his usual standards. Over almost a full schedule, Springer managed only 21 home runs and 72 RBI of offensive output, although he did steal a career-high 20 bases in the process. Nevertheless, the apparent regression in his hitting stats was worrisome for the Jays, as he wasn’t going to get younger any time soon.

This year, it had gotten a lot worse for Springer, as to date, he has compiled just a .197 average, .579 OPS, with 5 home runs and 15 RBI in 67 games played. Over a full season, that would mean just 12 home runs and 36 RBI in total, which would easily mark his career-lows. With Springer being part of the Jays’ big three, which included Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., he was counted on heavily to be instrumental in leading the offensive attack, not hinder it. With the fact that he is still getting everyday playing time right now, Springer will need to provide some much-needed spark for the team by stepping up in a big way in the coming weeks to give the team any hope going forward.