Daulton

Varsho

It wound up being a brief shutdown for Varsho after experiencing some renewed hamstring soreness while running the bases over the weekend. The 28-year-old outfielder underwent a precautionary MRI earlier this week that didn’t reveal any structural damage. He should be ready to start a minor league rehab assignment at some point in the coming days.

The Blue Jays are going to pull back a bit with Varsho after experienced some soreness after running the bases over the weekend. The 28-year-old will continue hitting and could potentially be cleared for a rehab assignment at some point in the near future once he ramps-up again from a baserunning standpoint.

Over the weekend, Varsho ran the bases without any pain, which was a big step for him. He’s been on the IL since June 1 and might need a week of rehab games before returning to Toronto at the beginning of July.

Daulton Varsho was one of the hitters that took swings against him on Sunday and wound up tagging him for a home run. He will throw his normal side session in a couple of days and depending on how he feels from there the Jays will make a decision on whether or not he’ll require a minor league rehab start or if he’ll be cleared to return to the Blue Jays’ rotation.

He has yet to be cleared to begin running, but it’s an encouraging sign that he’s already doing baseball activity again. The Blue Jays are hopeful that he won’t require much longer than a minimum stint on the injured list, but it will all depend on how quickly he can get through his running progression.

Varsho hits the injured list after suffering the ailment during Saturday’s contest against the Athletics at the Rogers Centre. No word yet on the severity, but fantasy managers should anticipate a multi-week absence, even if it’s a relatively mild strain. His absence should lead to increased playing time for rookie Alan Roden, who is the most interesting beneficiary for fantasy purposes.

Varsho was clearly in pain while moving from second to third and was unable to continue. There’s a very good chance he’ll miss at least Sunday’s game, but his status going forward will largely be determined by the results of testing and potentially imaging.

Varsho was seen grabbing left left leg while moving into third base. The 28-year-old will likely need to undergo imaging to determine the severity and specifics of the injury, but for now Myles Straw is in the game in Varsho’s absence.

Barger has been bumped up to the heart of Toronto’s lineup, with veterans George Springer and Daulton Varsho moved down to accommodate the move, after going 4-for-5 with a homer during Friday’s slugfest at the Rogers Centre. The 25-year-old prospect has been a revelation this season for the Blue Jays, hitting .299/.370/.495 with three homers, 12 RBI and one steal over his last 30 games. He’s deserving of a roster spot for fantasy managers in deeper mixed leagues.

Varsho is selling out for power this year, and it’s working out so far, as he’s homered eight times in 20 games since coming off the IL. He’s sporting a fascinating .218/.238/.603 line with a career-high 31 percent strikeout rate. He was a big flyball hitter the last couple of years, too, but he didn’t have the exit velocity to make it work. Right now, he has a 45 percent hard-hit rate, up from 33 percent last year.