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Blue Jays: George Springer’s offensive struggles in 2026 go deeper than his toe injury
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Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Ben Wrixon
May 13, 2026, 19:00 EDTUpdated: May 13, 2026, 18:58 EDT
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George Springer had an unexpectedly great season last year for the Toronto Blue Jays. The veteran right-handed bat posted a .959 OPS with 32 home runs, and a career-best .399 on-base percentage—all while turning 36 in September. 
After defying Father Time for much of 2025, Springer has looked his age this season. He’s slashing .209/.287/.330 after picking up two hits during Tuesday’s 7-6 extra-innings loss against the Tampa Bay Rays. 
The glaring issue plaguing Springer is that he’s been playing with a fractured toe. Hitting a baseball is hard enough when you’re feeling great, let alone when your foot is constantly in aching pain. Still, he’s in the lineup so his numbers count—and right now they aren’t living up to his past production.
Springer simply hasn’t been hitting the ball as hard as he did in 2025; his hard-hit percentage has dropped from 47.6% last year to just 38.8% now. His max exit velocity, meanwhile, is just 108.8 mph after topping out at 114 mph last year. His average exit velocity is also down this season.
His batted ball distribution reflects this decline in hard-hit balls. Just 16.4% of his batted balls thus far have been line drives, compared to over 25% of them in 2025. Even more concerning is that he’s popping up balls 13.4% of the time, which would be the highest rate of his career over a full season. That’s not a recipe for doing damage. 
The actual mechanics of Springer’s swing are mostly unchanged despite the nagging toe injury. He hasn’t lost any bat speed, and his swing tilt is only one degree lower than last season. His attack angle has dropped from 13 degrees down to 10, but his ideal attack angle percentage has actually gone up. 
Still, the eye test tells another story. Springer has frequently looked off-balance since returning from the injured list. It’s not just his usual big swings where he ends up on a knee; he just hasn’t looked settled in the box. His base doesn’t appear as stable, which is to be expected given his injury. 
What’s troubling is that Springer wasn’t tearing the cover off the ball before he fractured his toe. He wasn’t showing the same power he did last year. A long season and extended playoff run may have caught up to him, sapping him of some of his power in his age-36 season. He’s endured a lot of wear and tear over the years. 
Springer is certainly better than what he’s showing right now. He’s going to get hot at some point. Still, it’s fair to wonder if the drop in his production most feared would come and may end up being more pronounced than everyone hoped. Only time will tell.  

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