Vladimir Guerrero Jr. swung, popped the ball up, and immediately reached for his lower back. He stumbled a step. Then he walked off the field at Wrigley Field and didn’t come back out for the bottom of the sixth.
The Blue Jays were already getting blown out by the Cubs 16-2 by that point. A 14-run loss stinks. But a potential injury to their star first baseman is the kind of thing that can wreck more than just one afternoon in June.
Guerrero took a big cut against Chicago starter Ben Brown in the sixth inning, and as he finished the swing, he grabbed at his back near the belt line. The team called time. He stayed in for a moment. Then he was replaced. No official word from the Blue Jays yet on the severity or exactly what happened, but the image of Guerrero reaching for his back while stumbling out of the box is not one Toronto fans wanted to see.
Guerrero has had a weird season. The power numbers aren’t there — just four home runs through 76 games. But he’s still hitting .279 with a .367 on-base percentage and 30 RBIs. That’s not the elite-level MVP production people got used to a couple years ago, but he’s still the guy every pitcher in the American League fears when the game is on the line.
Manager John Schneider has to be holding his breath. Losing Guerrero for any stretch would be brutal for a lineup that’s already struggled to score consistently. The Blue Jays entered Saturday 37-39, sitting 9.5 games behind the Yankees in the AL East. The loss to Chicago also dropped them out of the wild card picture entirely. They’re half a game behind the Athletics, who are currently holding the third spot.
What happens if Guerrero is out?
There’s no replacement for a guy like Guerrero at first base, not really. The Blue Jays don’t have another bat in the organization that commands the same attention from opposing pitchers. If this is a back issue that lingers, it could force Schneider to juggle the lineup in ways he didn’t plan for in a season that’s already slipping away.
For now, the Blue Jays will wait for imaging and an official update. The score Saturday was ugly, but that part doesn’t matter much if Guerrero is healthy. If he’s not, the next few weeks could get a whole lot uglier.
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