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Blue Jays: Should George Springer stay in the leadoff spot?
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Photo credit: © Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
Ben Wrixon
Apr 7, 2026, 18:00 EDTUpdated: Apr 7, 2026, 16:34 EDT
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The Toronto Blue Jays have some serious lineup questions to answer after an embarrassing 14-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night. 
Given the current number of injuries and state of the bullpen as a result, their pitching was set up to fail the moment Max Scherzer left the game after two innings with what’s being called forearm tendinitis. 
The lineup, however, doesn’t have the same excuse.
Yes, Alejandro Kirk and Addison Barger are both on the IL as of right now, and the club has been battling a flu bug. But that’s no justification for all the healthy players who are underperforming, chief among them being George Springer atop the batting order. 
He’s slashing .150/.261/.325 so far with two home runs to begin the season. He’s struck out 13 times compared to six walks. Under the hood, his expected batting average of just .175 suggests he hasn’t deserved much better results based on the kind of contact he’s been making. 
So what gives?
Nobody should be expecting Springer to replicate the incredible .959 OPS he recorded in 2025 during the best season of his entire career. Many predicted regression for the 2026 season, knowing those were unprecedented numbers for someone in their age-36 campaign. Still, the hope was that regression would mean something around an .800 OPS, not a reversion to the version of Springer who posted a .674 OPS in 2024. He has also taken some very questionable hacks at the plate, swinging at first or second pitches while chasing out of the zone for weak contact.
While questions may surround whether he is the right player to lead off the team, it’s way too early to write Springer off for several reasons.
His 73.4 mph bat speed so far is right in line with the 73.7 mph he averaged last season, and is, more importantly, still much faster than it was in 2024. He made meaningful changes to his approach last year and has earned more than a little patience for his efforts. He’s just a bit off right now. 
Allowing Springer to figure things out lower in the lineup would be a good idea. The Blue Jays desperately need a spark at the top that he simply isn’t providing right now. We’ve also seen him respond positively to being lowered in the batting order—he didn’t open the 2025 season hitting first, after all. 
The Blue Jays could give Andrés Giménez a shot atop the lineup while he’s hot. He’s been the team’s most consistent hitter thus far, and he would provide them with some speed in front of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Nathan Lukes is another candidate the team could consider. He hasn’t hit much in his limited playing time so far, but he consistently worked pitchers last season. He also has experience hitting near the top of the lineup after spending much of 2025 in the two-hole between Springer and Guerrero. 
Davis Schneider could also be the guy against left-handed pitchers, given that he has led off in a platoon role before. He doesn’t hit for a high average, but he sees pitches and works enough walks to run a solid on-base percentage. He also offers a bit of power on occasion.
Regardless of who the Blue Jays choose, they need to bump Springer down temporarily because the lineup isn’t working as currently constructed. Relieving some of the mental pressure on him with a temporary demotion could be exactly what he needs to get back on track, and the Jays need his bat to find a way to go back on the upswing.

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