THE TEO AFFECT

Nicholas D'Agostino

On May 7th, The Blue Jays activated outfielder Teoscar Hernández from the injured list. This has been a long time coming as Hernández has been out with an oblique injury since April 14th. The Blue Jays star right fielder was hitting .316 with a homer and 3 RBIs in just 6 games to start the year. The Blue Jays have really missed Teoscar’s bat in the lineup as the two time silver slugger has emerged as a dependable offensive threat in the middle of the Blue Jays lineup.

What changes will occur with Teoscar coming back? The Blue Jays will be pleased to welcome back the big slugger. Though this will bring less playing time for players like Raimel Tapia and Bradley Zimmer. It may also clog up the DH spot a bit as Blue Jays Skipper Charlie Montoyo likes to have multiple players DH every now and then instead of having a designated Designated Hitter. Nonetheless, Charlie Montoyo will happily welcome Hernández back to patch a recent hole in the Jays offense.

The main reason the Jays will love having Teoscar Hernández back from injury revolves around his bat contributing to this Blue Jays offense. In particular, the bluebirds have been struggling to cash runners in when they are in scoring position. Getting last year’s team leader in Runs Batted In would certainly help the Jays cause, adding another reason as to why Hernández’s return is imminent.

On the injury front, Hernández seems to be his healthy, normal self as in two games in his rehab assignment he smashed 2 home runs. It certainly seems as though the oblique injury is behind him and he is ready to rejoin the Blue Jays.

I truly believe that Teoscar Hernández is an extremely important player for this Blue Jays team as he brings so much both on the field and off. He has shown that he fits the Blue Jays persona as he is a great teammate and an even better person. On the field, there is no question about how much Hernández brings to this ball club as this was on full display when he was out with an injury. The Blue Jays are extremely happy to have Teoscar Hernández back as an everyday player and he will be important for this team if they have any aspirations of being an avid World Series contender.