The Blue Jays are finally getting some encouraging injury news, and for a club that has spent much of the season juggling rehab timelines, that alone feels notable. Jameson Taillon is expected back on Friday after missing time with a forearm injury, Trey Yesavage is already throwing off a mound as he works back from arthroscopic knee surgery, and Shane Bieber is making steady progress of his own.
Bieber landed on the injured list in late August because of shoulder inflammation, and his recovery has been slower than Taillon’s or Yesavage’s. Even so, he’s been in Toronto this week playing catch and has kept up with his strength work while trying to stay ready. Hazel Mae reported, “Shane Bieber has been diligently keeping up with his strength training while on IL.
He hopes to play catch either tomorrow or the day after.”
That setback came just as Bieber had started to settle in. Before going on the IL, he put together back-to-back strong starts against the Rays and Yankees, going 2-0 and giving up just two runs, one earned, over 13 innings against two of the AL East’s best teams. If he can make it back before the season ends, even in a bulk reliever role, that would give Toronto another useful arm for the stretch run.
There was also a surprise update on Anthony Santander, who has not played all season after offseason shoulder surgery that repaired a torn labrum. Manager John Schneider said the outfielder is now hitting off live pitching in Florida and could begin a rehab assignment in Triple-A Buffalo next week. Hazel Mae relayed Schneider’s comments: “He’s hitting off live pitching down in Florida “today and this weekend, and then optimistic me says if he can get into some rehab games in AAA next week,” Santander could be back before season’s end.
Even with that progress, the calendar is working against Santander. After this weekend, Buffalo will have just 12 regular season games left, and he is not going to appear in all of them as he ramps up from such a serious injury. At best, he might get a handful of games in Triple-A before the month ends, and only if everything goes well would Toronto even consider bringing him back for a final cameo late in September.
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