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The 2024 season has been nothing short of a complete disaster for the Toronto Blue Jays. As if things couldn't get any worse, the Blue Jays even lost one of their most valuable contributors to a major injury, with Daulton Varsho nursing a right rotator cuff injury that will end his season prematurely.
Varsho, who is one of the best defensive outfielders in the MLB, will be undergoing surgery to repair the injury on his shoulder, as he relayed to Hazel Mae of Sportsnet. The 28-year-old outfielder reportedly met with Dr. Keith Meister to discuss the procedure that Varsho hopes to undergo as soon as possible so he could have as plenty of time to recover in preparation for the 2025 season.
“There's a rotator cuff issue at the front of my shoulder that's been bugging me,” Varsho said.
It's not quite clear yet both for Varsho and the Blue Jays just how long it would take for him to recover from this shoulder injury. The initial prognosis from manager John Schneider (per Keegan Matheson of MLB.com) isn't too promising, however. While Schneider conceded that they will have a clearer picture of Varsho's recovery timeline following the surgery, they are bracing for the possibility that the rehab process “could stretch into next spring”.
A cursory search on the internet reveals that athletes need about four to six months to fully recover from surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff. If Varsho were to have surgery later this week, the six-month timeline will take him to March — the middle of Spring Training. And by then, nothing is guaranteed, as, knock on wood, there could very well be setbacks that may arise.
Whatever the case may be, the Blue Jays will be needing Varsho to be back at his best if they were to put this nightmare 2024 season behind and return to contending ways in 2025.
Blue Jays endure rough 2024 season
Almost anything that could have gone wrong for the Blue Jays in 2024 did go wrong. Their pitching staff performed below par, and with the exception of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., every hitter the Blue Jays relied on to carry the offense faltered and some even played worse than they ever have. In particular, Bo Bichette has been a major disappointment for the Blue Jays, playing at near-replacement level after putting up a total of 13.7 WAR (per Fangraphs) over the past three seasons.
Daulton Varsho isn't someone the Blue Jays look toward to provide some major contributions from the plate; he isn't the best contact-hitter, and his on-base skills leave a lot to be desired. But in 2024, Varsho upped his walk rate and upped his wRC+ to 99 — giving him a ton of value thanks to his elite outfield defense.
Varsho's contributions this season have been worth 3.2 WAR, per Fangraphs. That makes him a safely above-average contributor for the Blue Jays, and the good news is that he remains under team control until 2026 — giving Toronto a solid backbone in the middle of the field.
For the Blue Jays to return to playoff-contending ways next season, Varsho will have to maintain this level of play, while others, such as Bichette, must return to form. Perhaps a full year of Spencer Horwitz would help. Davis Schneider has to right the ship. Meanwhile, the team could use another quality starter or two to strengthen their playoff hopes.
