Isiah

Kiner-Falefa

Blue Jays manager John Schneider told reporters Tuesday that Kiner-Falefa is going to require more than a minimum stay on the injured list after suffering a right knee sprain. There isn’t an official timeline for his return, but the absence of any sort of clarity means he’s most likely out until after the All-Star break.

Falefa was scratched from Monday’s lineup due to pain in his left knee, and the Blue Jays will have the infielder miss at least a week-plus while he gets better. He underwent an MRI after the injury, and while the results haven’t been made public yet, it couldn’t have been too good of news if he’s going to miss time. Leo Jimenez has been recalled from Triple-A to replace Kiner-Falefa on the roster.

This doesn’t sound good. Kiner-Falefa, who is putting together a terrific season as a super-utilityman, was a last-minute scratch before the game today. If he lands on the injured list, it’ll probably mean more regular playing time for Davis Schneider and a longer look for Addison Barger.

There are no details yet on the severity of the injury, but we’ll provide an update when we have it. Kevin Kiermaier is now in the game in center field as the Blue Jays juggled the positions for their starting lineup.

It’s a scheduled off day for Bichette after he returned off the injured list Tuesday from his calf strain. Isiah Kiner-Falefa will get the start at shortstop in his place and hit leadoff.

Kiner-Falefa had an excellent day at the plate, collecting four hits against the Yankees while cross home plate three time and driving in one run. The 29-year-old infielder is slashing a strong .296/.343/.427 with seven homers, 32 runs scored, 33 RBI, and three steals across 277 plate appearances.

Bo Bichette continues to miss games with a calf injury, giving Kiner-Falefa some run at shortstop. He was able to hit two home runs out of the leadoff spot on Saturday. Kiner-Falefa now has six home runs on the year. He’s hitting .281 with a .733 OPS and 31 RBI on the season.

Bichette has not been able to play since Friday due to soreness in his right calf. The shortstop has reportedly made progress, but not enough to get him back in the lineup just yet. Isiah Kiner-Falefa gets another start at shortstop with Bichette out.

Kiner-Falefa got the scoring started in the second inning with a two-run single off of Mitch Spence. He was then nabbed trying to steal second base — the first time that he has been caught all season. The versatile 29-year-old then delivered the biggest blow of the game with a bases-clearing three-run double off of Austin Adams that put the Blue Jays ahead in the 10th inning. With his two-hit attack, Kiner-Falefa is now slashing .275/.319/.394 on the season with four homers, 26 RBI and three stolen bases on the season.

The game-winner was a fly to deep right that would have normally been caught but dropped because the fielder was playing shallow in the hopes of cutting down the runner from third base. The other RBI came on an infield single in the second. That’s just what Kiner-Falefa does, though, and his contributions have been a little more valuable this year with power numbers down across the league. As sad as it is to write, his current .704 OPS is a tad better than the league OPS on the whole.