Blue Jays will be without Chapman for crucial late-season stretch
Things are going from bad to worse for the Toronto Blue Jays.
With the team currently sitting 2.5 games out of the final American League Wild Card spot, the Jays announced on Monday they’ll be without third baseman Matt Chapman for the foreseeable future.
Today, the team placed Chapman on the 10-day injured list with a right middle finger sprain suffered in Sunday’s 10-7 loss to the Cleveland Guardians.
“It comes down to little things. As tough as it is, you have to regroup and move on. Every game is important. It sucks that we came up short today. Guys are in it. Guys are grinding. You have to keep doing that,” manager John Schneider said after yesterday’s loss.
It’ll be tough for the Blue Jays to deal with the loss of Chapman for at least the next week and a half, who has been an everyday player for the team, missing just six games this season to date.
In his second year in Toronto after being acquired in a 2022 trade with the Oakland Athletics, Chapman has a batting average of .248 with 113 hits, 15 homers, 50 RBIs, and 61 runs scored in 125 games this season.
To fill the hole for Chapman, Ernie Clement has been called up from the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons in his place.
It’s yet another injury for the Blue Jays, who also removed Bo Bichette from yesterday’s game due to quad-tightness.
Bo Bichette has been “feeling it” in his quad and playing through it.
John Schneider called it a precautionary move and “separate” from his right patellar tendinitis. #BlueJays
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) August 27, 2023
With their playoff hopes on the line, Toronto is set to host the Washington Nationals for a three-game set at the Rogers Centre starting tonight before departing for a road trip in Colorado and Oakland over the weekend.
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