With the Blue Jays searching for offense, George Springer has continued to sit. Why?

With the Blue Jays coming off of a much-needed victory over the Cincinnati Reds, it's worth mentioning that we have barely seen George Springer in the past week or so. The star outfielder has been noticeably absent from the lineup in each of the past two games and, up until pre-game on Saturday, no formal announcement had been made on his status.

Since signing with the Jays in January of 2021, Springer has taken four trips to the injured list, all the while missing games due to minor injuries (as well as spending 40 games in 2022 as a DH due to those concerns). John Schneider spoke to the media prior to Saturday's game and confirmed that Springer has been dealing with left ankle soreness that he sustained in the two-game Phillies series. It seemed like Friday might have been a rest day, but with this being the third consecutive day without him playing (albeit one of those days being an off day), the injury fears, unfortunately, become the most likely solution.

Coming off of a putrid July, Springer has been an important factor for the Jays in August, slashing .316/.375/.439 in 15 games, while recording an RBI in two of his last three games. While it might make sense to give Springer a day off with the emergence of Cavan Biggio at the plate (who's hitting .333/.524/.333 in his last seven games), having him sit again after an off day brought up the worry of injury concerns, something that's plagued him during his tenure as a Blue Jay.

In the end, for the Blue Jays to leap back into a playoff spot they need a healthy George Springer, and they need to score runs. This month so far they've had only one of those things (besides those two games against Boston and Chicago), and so hopefully Springer can return to the lineup as soon as possible.