Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is moving closer to a return at the perfect time for the Toronto Blue Jays.
Guerrero has cleared MLB concussion protocol, and the next checkpoint comes Thursday night when he serves as the designated hitter for Dunedin against Clearwater in Clearwater as part of his rehab assignment. Toronto will check how he responds after the game before deciding what comes next.
The update matters because Guerrero’s injury came against the Yankees last Friday, when he got tangled up in an awkward collision with Yankees shortstop George Lombard Jr. while sliding into third base and took a knee to the head on the play. He first dealt with a headache and was pulled from the game as a precaution before landing on the seven-day concussion injured list.
Now he’s back on a baseball field, and the timing lines up cleanly for the Blue Jays.
Toronto opens a three-game series in the Bronx on Friday, and if Guerrero gets through the rehab outing without issue, he could be back in the lineup as soon as Saturday. That would be a huge lift for a Blue Jays team still chasing a playoff spot.
Guerrero has had a tough offensive season by his standards, entering Thursday with a .263 average, seven home runs and 46 RBIs in 115 games. Even with those numbers, his importance to Toronto’s lineup hasn’t changed.
The Blue Jays are sitting one game behind the Minnesota Twins for the third Wild Card spot in the American League, so every healthy bat matters now. Getting Guerrero back against the Yankees would be a timely boost as Toronto tries to close the gap in the final stretch of the regular season.
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