George Springer Is Showing Signs of Life on the Blue Jays
Last year, George Springer looked like a shell of the player he once was. To open 2025, he's bounced back in a huge way on a Blue Jays team hoping to contend.
For a long list of reasons, there are many people who don’t think the 2025 Toronto Blue Jays have a chance at contention. Whether it’s their questionable bullpen, amount of position players in need of rebounds, or off-field drama surrounding Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and his contract extension situation, there’s no shortage of reasons to think this team is going to remain stuck in neutral.
Yet, in a way that the Kansas City Royals, Detroit Tigers, and second-half Oakland A’s showed us this past season, it’s silly to write any team off too early. The Blue Jays are off to a 5-4 start and are in second place in the American League East.
So much is going to change between now and crunch time in October, but this team has not rolled over and died like so many thought they would. Most of the players they’ve needed standout showings from have delivered when called upon, which gives them an automatic leg up on the team they trotted out on a nightly basis last year.
There’s perhaps no player in the midst of a bigger bounce-back than George Springer. The long-time Houston Astro looked like his career was on death’s door last year, but he’s come bursting out of the gates in a way that nobody could’ve seen coming.
He may be the oldest position player on this team, but right now, he’s performing like the best one the Blue Jays have got.
The 2024 Season That Was
Before I go on, let me just say that when I first started assembling this piece, it was going to be about how the Blue Jays have a tough decision looming on Springer. Last year, he was worth a career-low 1.1 bWAR while hitting just .220. His OPS dipped down to .674 and for the first time in his career, his OPS+ dipped below 100, which is league-average.
Springer was still good for a solid web gem in right field every now and then, but he looked lost at the plate. To his credit, he remained healthy and he battled through the underperformance until the very end, but the numbers just weren’t there.
This, paired with the fact that he’s still got another season in which the Blue Jays will pay him over $24 million on his contract, didn’t bode well for his future. Even though the time’s starting to run out on his deal, a full season is a long time. Especially when the player performed as poorly as Springer did in 2024.
In spring training, Springer made it into 15 games but he hit just .108 with a .216 SLG and .514 OPS. Somehow, he appeared to have gotten even worse. That got me thinking that I’d try to make my case for why the Blue Jays should make a decision they’re likely already pondering and release him.
I’m glad I held off.
Is George Springer Back?
We’re still so early on in the season and it’s prime overreaction time, but it’s difficult to say that Springer isn’t back. He’s only got nine games under his belt, but he’s already recorded four extra-base hits with five RBI.
Springer’s line through nine games sits at .379/.455/.621 while his OPS has reached all the way up to 1.075. He’s recorded at least one hit in six games, and it seems that his long overdue move out of the leadoff spot has immediately begun to pay dividends.
One sneaky development in Springer’s game so far this year has been the fact that the Blue Jays have started playing him in center field again. He made just one appearance in 2023 and 2024 out there, but he’s got five of them under his belt to kick off this year. He’s looked a bit more nimble and quick on his feet than he has in year’s past, which is pretty impressive coming from a player who’s turning 36 in September.
Again, it’s still early, but the year-over-year improvements are wild from four-time All-Star and two-time World Series Champion.
| 2024 | 2025 | |
| xwOBA | .322 | .406 |
| xBA | .244 | .304 |
| xSLG | .402 | .569 |
| Avg Exit Velocity | 87.5 | 95.3 |
| Hard-Hit % | 37.4 | 61.1 |
| Barrel % | 9.3 | 22.2 |
I mean, how can you look at this and not feel encouraged? Springer’s clearly seeing the ball better than he has in over a year. The AVG Exit Velo and Barrel % alone point to the fact that he’s not only seeing it better, but he’s hitting the ball so much harder and the quality of contact has improved tenfold.
Looking Over His Shoulder
Last season, a prospect by the name of Alan Roden burst onto the scene and turned the heads of many in the Blue Jays’ front office. He hit 16 home runs with 75 RBI while posting a .293/.391/.475 line and a smooth .865 OPS in the minor leagues.
Roden’s always been a contact-oriented hitter, but he’s developing some raw power at a rapid pace and was guaranteed to be on the short list of big league-ready options in Triple-A to start the year.
Then he hit .407 in 20 spring training games with a pair of home runs, six RBI, six walks and just four strikeouts. His 1.245 OPS forced the Blue Jays’ hand, so they added him not only to the 40-man roster, but the Opening Day one as well. So far, him and Springer have co-existed nicely in the outfield without any issues.
When Daulton Varsho, the Blue Jays’ primary center fielder, returns from the injured list, things may get a bit tricky. Anthony Santander may not continue to get everyday reps on the outfield grass, but Springer’s also going to get pushed out of center. Still, Roden’s proved that he needs to play every single day.
Once Varsho comes back, he could play center while Roden shifts to left, Springer takes over right, and Santander moves to designated hitter. In a perfect world, that’s likely how it’d go, but Springer needs his fair share of off days (even though he’s tearing the cover off the ball) and Santander is borderline unwatchable in the outfield.
Nathan Lukes, Myles Straw, and Davis Schneider all need to fit into this picture as well somehow. There’s also Addison Barger, a third baseman turned corner outfielder, who is sitting in Triple-A. Point being, there are a ton of players that need reps. Should Springer start to see his production dip, the leash is not going to be very long.
The Waiting Game
Springer left Saturday night’s game against the New York Mets after slamming into the right field wall trying to field a ball off the bat of Jesse Winker. As of right now, the diagnosis is just lower back spasms, but it certainly didn’t look good at the time.
As per Blue Jays manager John Schneider, the injury seems to be “all muscular”, so the hope is surely that Springer can avoid a trip to the injured list. Having him hit the shelf right in the middle of a hot streak like this one would be extremely detrimental to the momentum he had worked so hard to build up.
The Blue Jays have plenty of outfield-capable options on their 40-man roster, but teams in their position always need to ride the hot bat. Springer’s been swinging a red-hot bat, so losing that production would be a significant blow to the club’s offense if he needs a trip to the IL.
Let the collective holding of breaths commence.
Written by
Eric Treuden (troy-din) has covered baseball for years for multiple different outlets including FanSided, Yardbarker, and Wisconsin Sports Heroics. He recently was the editor for Jays…