DUNEDIN, Fla. – Attrition struck the Toronto Blue Jays on the eve of the first official workout for pitchers and catchers, with slugger Anthony Santander and Bowden Francis headed for surgery and Shane Bieber due to miss the beginning of the regular season.
Manager John Schneider dropped the news Tuesday afternoon, just as spring training is set to open, each an immediate test to the overall roster depth the defending American League champions sought to fortify over the winter.
Santander will undergo a left shoulder labral repair after suffering a setback during his hitting progression last month, while Francis needs a UCL reconstruction in his right elbow after suffering what GM Ross Atkins called “an acute injury” recently during his ramp-up.
Both procedures are scheduled for Wednesday.
Bieber, who exercised his $16-million player option in November, foregoing a $4-million buyout and free agency, is experiencing right forearm fatigue and will “slow play” his build-up for the season, said Schneider.
Atkins said both the Blue Jays and Bieber himself expect the right-hander “to pitch a lot and have a significant impact on our entire season,” although he didn’t speculate how long he might miss.
The immediate consequence of his slower buildup is that a rotation fronted by Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, Trey Yesavage and Cody Ponce now also has room for Jose Berrios or Eric Lauer, as well. Francis’s loss, meanwhile, eats into the club’s starting depth, which includes top lefty pitching prospect Ricky Tiedemann, who is returning from his own elbow surgery and will have his workload managed because of limited volume preceding the injury.
Santander’s loss sets up Addison Barger to be used most often in right field with Nathan Lukes in left, with Davis Schneider and Myles Straw available as right-handed complements.
Kazuma Okamoto is slated to get the bulk of his work at third base, said Schneider.
