The Toronto Blue Jays are rapidly declining at the end of the season. Signature hitter All-Star shortstop Bo Vichet was again listed on the injured list (IL).
The Toronto team announced on the 30th (hereinafter Korean time), “A quadriceps injury appeared in the MRI examination, so Vichet was put on the 10-day IL, and Triple-A infielder Mason McCoy’s contract was transferred to the big leagues.” Vichet’s IL period applies from the 29th. As announced by the club, the injured area is the right thigh quadriceps.
In the game against the Cleveland Guardians on the 28th, Vichet retired with a grounder from second baseman in the bottom of the 5th inning, and was replaced by Espinal during defense in the top of the 6th inning. He was reported to have pushed through despite sustaining an injury in the course of his recent base running.
This is the second IL trip this season. Vichet went to the IL on the 2nd due to a right knee injury and returned on the 20th. He played 8 games and ended up in the IL again.
Vichet is having a career high this season. He marked a .314 batting average (152 hits in 484 at-bats), 18 home runs, 62 RBIs, 54 runs scored, and an OPS of .831 in 114 games. If it wasn’t for the injury, it was a pace that could break 200 hits.소닉카지노
It’s not just Vichet. Third baseman Matt Chapman also injured his finger on the same day and went to the IL. Chapman suffered paralysis in his middle middle right hand while batting in the fourth against Cleveland. He had a .248 batting average (113 hits in 455 at-bats), 15 homers, 58 RBIs, 61 runs scored, 769 OPS, and a 4.0 bWAR in 125 games.
Toronto, which lost Vichet and Chapman at once, is getting worse offence, which is not cool. It is unclear whether McCoy and Ernie Clement, who came to the big leagues instead, will properly fill the gap between the two superstars.
As of the 29th, Toronto is 72-60 and is in 4th place in the AL Wild Card. They are 2.5 games behind the third-place Houston Astros. On the 1st, just before Vichet made his first IL, he was 59-48, 3rd in the wild card, and 2.5 games ahead of the 4th place Boston Red Sox. Since then, it has posted 13 wins and 12 losses, which is due to the weakening of scoring power. Toronto is 11th in AL in team batting average (0.241) in August, 9th in runs scored (109), tied for 10th in team homers (31), and 10th in OPS (0.714).
Throughout the season, the sluggishness of leading hitter Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is pointed out as the root cause. Guerrero Jr. has a batting average of 0.268 (133 hits in 497 at-bats), 20 homers, 78 RBIs, 61 runs scored, and an OPS of 0.783 in 128 games this season. Both batting average and clutch ability are far below expectations. Guerrero Junior, who had a triple crown level performance in 2021 with a batting average of 0.311, 48 homers and 111 RBIs, fell to a batting average of 0.274 and 32 homers last year, and his explosive power weakened further this year.
Toronto currently has the best starting lineup in the AL. With Ryu Hyun-jin returning, there is enough room to operate a six-man rotation. The reason Alec Manoa was sent down to the minor leagues twice this year was because the starting five were stable. Toronto’s team ERA is 3.71, second only to the Seattle Mariners among 30 teams. It is 4th in starting ERA (3.84) and 4th in bullpen ERA (3.50). It is said that the total ERA is second.
Ryu Hyun-jin will challenge for a 4-game winning streak against the Colorado Rockies on September 2 at Coors Field, the ‘grave of pitchers’. The atmosphere is gloomy to expect ample scoring support.