Not only will centre fielder Daulton Varsho miss the remainder of the 2024 season, but there&#8217;s also plenty of uncertainty around whether he&#8217;ll begin &#8217;25 on the injured list, adding another layer of complexity to what was already shaping up to be a pivotal off-season for the Toronto Blue Jays. 
After dealing with a right shoulder injury for roughly a month, the club announced Tuesday that Varsho &#8212; who&#8217;s been day-to-day for the past few weeks &#8212; will undergo season-ending rotator cuff surgery to address an issue that&#8217;s plagued him ever since making a diving play against the Los Angeles Angels last month.
It&#8217;ll take time to gather a recovery timeline following Varsho&#8217;s procedure, which is expected to occur in the coming days. However, Blue Jays skipper John Schneider said the team is already bracing for the reality of beginning spring training next year without one of the sport&#8217;s most electrifying defenders.
<blockquote>“Most likely, it might bleed into next spring a little bit,” Schneider told reporters prior to first pitch in Texas on Tuesday, including <a href="https://www.mlb.com/bluejays/news/daulton-varsho-shoulder-injury-out-for-season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MLB.com&#8217;s Keegan Matheson</a>. “But we’ll know more as the calendar flips and see how he’s responding.”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
News: Daulton Varsho will have rotator cuff surgery on his right shoulder.
The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlueJays?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BlueJays</a> will have a clearer timeline after the surgery, but John Schneider says his recovery is something that could stretch into next spring.
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) <a href="https://twitter.com/KeeganMatheson/status/1836166627794325870?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2024</a></blockquote>
The fact that Varsho&#8217;s rehab will likely carry over into next spring indicates there&#8217;s a chance it could bleed into the regular season, too. That timeline, of course, is subject to change. But if that proves to be the case, it&#8217;ll be imperative for the Blue Jays to develop some contingency plans in centre this winter.
Replacing the 28-year-old outfielder won&#8217;t be easy, though, even if it&#8217;s only for a brief period next season.
<blockquote>“It comes down to Varsho talking with our staff, with the doctors that he saw and just looking long term,” Schneider said. “Not having things be nagging or wasting time. If he were to come back and have it creep back in, then you’re looking at more time. This is what Varsho and the doctors were comfortable with long term.”</blockquote>
Coming off an underwhelming inaugural 2023 campaign, Varsho (3.3) has been <a href="https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders/major-league?pos=all&amp;stats=bat&amp;lg=all&amp;qual=y&amp;type=8&amp;season=2024&amp;month=0&amp;season1=2024&amp;ind=0&amp;team=14" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Toronto&#8217;s second-most valuable position player this season per fWAR</a>, trailing only Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (5.0).
The defensive impact he brought was impeccable. Despite transitioning to an everyday centre-fielder following the trade of Kevin Kiermaier, he still leads all qualified (min. 300 innings) big-league left-fielders in outs above average (+10), and he sits tied for first in defensive runs saved (+12). In centre, he (+15) trails only Jarren Duran (+19) for first in DRS.
Varsho owns a <a href="https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/leaderboard/fielding-run-value" target="_blank" rel="noopener">plus-17 fielding run value</a> on the year, placing second throughout the entire sport (min. 750 innings), making him a leading candidate to win his first-career Gold Glove Award &#8212; and possibly his first Platinum Glove, too.
But it wasn&#8217;t just Varsho&#8217;s defence that stood out this season. The left-handed-hitting outfielder&#8217;s bat did, as well, leading to 18 home runs in 136 games &#8212; leaving him two shy of reaching 20 for a third consecutive campaign. Additionally, he drove in 58 runs, slugged .407 and produced a 99 wRC+ in his second year with Toronto.
Potential centre-field replacements from within the organization likely include rookie Joey Loperfido and Nathan Lukes, a duo who&#8217;ll likely share duties at that position the rest of the way in 2024. Another name to add to that mix is Jonatan Clase, who&#8217;s remained at triple-A Buffalo since being acquired as part of July&#8217;s Yimi García trade with the Seattle Mariners.
The Blue Jays will also undoubtedly have to look outside the organization to shore up its outfield depth this off-season, which was already the case even before the recent development with Varsho.

Not only will centre fielder Daulton Varsho miss the remainder of the 2024 season, but there's also plenty of uncertainty around whether he'll begin '25 on the injured list, adding another layer of complexity to what was already shaping up to be a pivotal off-season for the Toronto Blue Jays. 

After dealing with a right shoulder injury for roughly a month, the club announced Tuesday that Varsho -- who's been day-to-day for the past few weeks -- will undergo season-ending rotator cuff surgery to address an issue that's plagued him ever since making a diving play against the Los Angeles Angels last month.

It'll take time to gather a recovery timeline following Varsho's procedure, which is expected to occur in the coming days. However, Blue Jays skipper John Schneider said the team is already bracing for the reality of beginning spring training next year without one of the sport's most electrifying defenders.
<blockquote>“Most likely, it might bleed into next spring a little bit,” Schneider told reporters prior to first pitch in Texas on Tuesday, including <a href="https://www.mlb.com/bluejays/news/daulton-varsho-shoulder-injury-out-for-season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MLB.com's Keegan Matheson</a>. “But we’ll know more as the calendar flips and see how he’s responding.”</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
News: Daulton Varsho will have rotator cuff surgery on his right shoulder.
The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlueJays?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BlueJays</a> will have a clearer timeline after the surgery, but John Schneider says his recovery is something that could stretch into next spring.

— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) <a href="https://twitter.com/KeeganMatheson/status/1836166627794325870?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2024</a></blockquote>
The fact that Varsho's rehab will likely carry over into next spring indicates there's a chance it could bleed into the regular season, too. That timeline, of course, is subject to change. But if that proves to be the case, it'll be imperative for the Blue Jays to develop some contingency plans in centre this winter.

Replacing the 28-year-old outfielder won't be easy, though, even if it's only for a brief period next season.
<blockquote>“It comes down to Varsho talking with our staff, with the doctors that he saw and just looking long term,” Schneider said. “Not having things be nagging or wasting time. If he were to come back and have it creep back in, then you’re looking at more time. This is what Varsho and the doctors were comfortable with long term.”</blockquote>
Coming off an underwhelming inaugural 2023 campaign, Varsho (3.3) has been <a href="https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders/major-league?pos=all&amp;stats=bat&amp;lg=all&amp;qual=y&amp;type=8&amp;season=2024&amp;month=0&amp;season1=2024&amp;ind=0&amp;team=14" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Toronto's second-most valuable position player this season per fWAR</a>, trailing only Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (5.0).

The defensive impact he brought was impeccable. Despite transitioning to an everyday centre-fielder following the trade of Kevin Kiermaier, he still leads all qualified (min. 300 innings) big-league left-fielders in outs above average (+10), and he sits tied for first in defensive runs saved (+12). In centre, he (+15) trails only Jarren Duran (+19) for first in DRS.

Varsho owns a <a href="https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/leaderboard/fielding-run-value" target="_blank" rel="noopener">plus-17 fielding run value</a> on the year, placing second throughout the entire sport (min. 750 innings), making him a leading candidate to win his first-career Gold Glove Award -- and possibly his first Platinum Glove, too.

But it wasn't just Varsho's defence that stood out this season. The left-handed-hitting outfielder's bat did, as well, leading to 18 home runs in 136 games -- leaving him two shy of reaching 20 for a third consecutive campaign. Additionally, he drove in 58 runs, slugged .407 and produced a 99 wRC+ in his second year with Toronto.

Potential centre-field replacements from within the organization likely include rookie Joey Loperfido and Nathan Lukes, a duo who'll likely share duties at that position the rest of the way in 2024. Another name to add to that mix is Jonatan Clase, who's remained at triple-A Buffalo since being acquired as part of July's Yimi García trade with the Seattle Mariners.

The Blue Jays will also undoubtedly have to look outside the organization to shore up its outfield depth this off-season, which was already the case even before the recent development with Varsho.

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