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Blue Jays make Vladimir Guerrero Jr. decision.
The Toronto Blue Jays made an intriguing decision on slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ahead of Tuesday’s road game against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Toronto suffered a 5-1 loss to the Rays on Monday in the series opener. Now, ahead of Tuesday’s game, the Blue Jays revealed their starting lineup, and Guerrero was given a day off. Toronto’s lineup is as follows:
Guerrero has appeared in every game for the Blue Jays this season, so the team is giving him a rare off day on Tuesday. With Toronto playing an afternoon game on Wednesday, the Blue Jays are giving Guerrero some much-needed rest, but he could be available to pinch hit tonight.
With Guerrero not in the lineup, Lenyn Sosa gets the start at first base, who has played well since the team acquired him from the Chicago White Sox. Sosa is hitting .240 with 1 home run and 9 RBIs.
As for Guerrero, he’s been hitting the ball well, but the home runs have not come. He’s hitting .331 with 2 home runs and 16 RBIs.
Toronto is giving Guerrero an off day for the first time this season, but some Blue Jays fans are surprised by it.
The Blue Jays are off to a slow start and lost the first game of the series, so winning Tuesday is pivotal.
“Vladdy scheduled off day the road to .500 is going to kill me,” a fan wrote.
“Vladdy off day interesting. Fueling up for his upcoming HRs I assume?,” a fan added.
“How do you rest Vladdy in a divisional matchup against a team ahead of you?,” a fan wrote.
Some fans, however, believe Guerrero could benefit from a day off to get his home run swing back, as he has just two home runs this season.
“Even with vladdy taking the day off, I like this. Who knows, maybe a day off will get a homer in that bat of his!,” a fan wrote.
“Honestly for the best that Vladdy takes a day off,” a fan added.
“No Vladdy absolutely sucks but he needed a day off to reset himself,” a fan wrote.
Guerrero is in the first year of his 14-year, $500 million deal with the Blue Jays.
Guerrero showed during the playoffs that he can hit home runs and bunches.
However, last regular season and this year, the home runs haven’t come. So, Blue Jays hitting coach David Popkins believes Guerrero will turn it around.
“He understands he’s not impacting the ball in the way he knows he can, but I’m certain he’s going to just like he did last year,” Popkins said to Blair and Barker.
Guerrero’s best season in terms of home runs came in 2021 when he hit 48 and had 111 RBIs. Although he might not be that type of hitter anymore, he is much better at getting hits and on base now.
Cole Shelton Cole Shelton covers the NHL, MLB, Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns for Heavy.com. He has covered pro and college sports since 2016, including bylines at BJ Penn, USA Today, SB Nation, Rotowire, Canadian Baseball Network and more. More about Cole Shelton
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