UPDATE: CF Daulton Varsho was removed from tonight's game with left wrist discomfort.
Blue Jays hoping to avoid yet another IL case after Daulton Varsho departs with wrist inflammation

Photo credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images
By Thomas Hall
Jun 5, 2026, 23:00 EDTUpdated: Jun 5, 2026, 22:58 EDT
TORONTO — The injuries just keep coming for these injury-mauled Blue Jays.
If the club’s injury report weren’t already long enough, you can now add another name to the list: centre-fielder Daulton Varsho, who exited Friday night’s game against the Baltimore Orioles in the bottom of the fourth inning. He was replaced by Yohendrick Piñango, bumping Nathan Lukes — who started in right field — to centre.
Later in the game, the club labelled Varsho’s injury as “left wrist discomfort,” which sidelined him for the remainder of a blowout 13-3 loss to the O’s.
In the aftermath of Toronto’s series-opening defeat, manager John Schneider revealed that Varsho has been dealing with some soreness in his left wrist over the last few days, adding that it “kind of just crept up on him” while taking pre-game swings off a pitching machine on Friday.
The club sent him for X-rays shortly after he departed, which returned negative and didn’t reveal any structural damage.
“I think it’s just more inflammation in his wrist,” Schneider said. “He’s dealt with it before, he said, so hopefully it’s just a day or two, but just wanted to be careful with him.”
It began as an unusual situation, as Varsho shook out his left hand after aggravating it on a swing during his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning, ultimately grounding out to conclude the frame. But he returned to the field for the top of the second and initially remained in the game.
Then, in the bottom of the third, with his turn a few spots away, Piñango started putting on his gear and eventually stepped onto the on-deck circle, appearing to pinch-hit for Varsho — until Vladimir Guerrero Jr. popped out to end the inning. It looked as though Varsho’s night was over. But out he came to return to centre for the top of the fourth.
He finished the inning, even catching Pete Alonso’s 102.2-m.p.h. flyout to centre. But upon jogging off the field with his teammates, Toronto’s everyday centre-fielder walked to the end of the dugout, grabbed his bats and immediately headed down the tunnel to officially signal the end of his night.
The Blue Jays are hoping for the best possible outcome here with Varsho, and understandably so, given the immense importance he holds — both at the plate and in the field, where he’s the most valuable, leading all major-league outfielders in defensive runs saved (86), outs above average (52) and fielding run value (53).
Varsho had also been riding a pretty hot bat lately, entering Friday’s contest with six doubles, two triples, one home run, eight RBIs, a .283/.356/.424 slash line and a 120 wRC+ (100 league average) over his last 26 games.
Considering Varsho missed half of last season while recovering from shoulder surgery and later due to a separate hamstring strain, the importance of executing this latest injury chapter is massive.
Being dealt yet another injury blow is, of course, something this team certainly didn’t need at this point of the season. They’ve already been trying to survive without so many core regulars, many of whom are close to returning — including Dylan Cease, who Schneider said will “very likely” be back after just one Triple-A rehab start, and Max Scherzer, who may also return from the IL after tossing 73 pitches across 3.2 innings with the Bisons on Friday.
Shane Bieber, starting for Buffalo on Saturday, doesn’t appear too far behind either, possibly needing only two or three more rehab starts to complete his spring-training-esque starter’s build-up.
There’s also Alejandro Kirk, who went 1-for-4 and made his first start at catcher with Single-A Dunedin in his second rehab game Friday night, and Addison Barger, who’s continuing a hitting and throwing progression at the club’s player development complex alongside fellow injured teammate Lenyn Sosa.
Fortunately, this appears to be a relatively minor ailment for Varsho, one that may keep him out of the lineup for the remainder of this three-game series versus the Orioles. They should have things covered in the outfield while he recovers, though, with Lukes and Myles Straw likely serving as immediate short-term options in centre.
With the number of bodies that are so close to returning to this team, the Blue Jays could use a bit of injury luck on their side for once. Perhaps this is just that.
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