Toronto Blue Jays get service time pass with Vladimir Guerrero Jr

The Toronto Blue Jays were likely to manipulate Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s service time. Due to injury, they no longer have to.

Barring a surprising change of heart, the Toronto Blue Jays were going to find a reason to keep Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the minors to start the season. The excuses had already begun, from questions about his conditioning to concerns about his defense at third. Then, miraculously, once his service clock had been set back enough for Toronto to gain an extra year of control over the phenom, he would have made enough progress for a promotion to the majors.

However, this is one battle that the Blue Jays will not have to fight. Guerrero has been diagnosed with a strained left oblique, which will require three weeks of recovery time.

Those three weeks will already push into the regular season. Then, Guerrero will need a few games to get back into game shape, leading to his being sent to the minors to get his timing down. By the time that happens, those service time questions may have passed.

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There is little question that Guerrero is ready for the majors. In fact, one could argue that he deserved a callup last September, as he annihilated minor league pitching. Although he missed time last season due to injury, Guerrero produced an incredible .381/.437/.636 batting line, hitting 20 homers and 29 doubles. In 408 plate appearances, he walked 37 times, with only 38 strikeouts.

Guerrero had struggled a bit in Spring Training. While those statistics often do not matter, his .211/.250/.316 batting line over 20 plate appearances would have been justification to send him to the minors under the pretense that he was not ready.

Yes, Guerrero will have his struggles at the major league level. That happens to even the greats, where they go through a period of adjustment and battle through slumps. And Guerrero, at 250 pounds, could stand to improve his conditioning. This strain could be due to his size. With his trip to the minors, and three weeks of being sidelined, the Blue Jays can work with Guerrero to be in a somewhat less rotund shape.

The Toronto Blue Jays found an answer to their service time dilemma with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Now, when he is healthy and completes his rehab assignment, he’ll come to the majors right on time.