Davis

Schneider

It looks to be a regular day of rest for the 27-year-old infielder. Ernie Clement will cover shortstop and bat leadoff in his absence while Davis Schneider will make a start at second base and bat eighth for the Jays against Guardians’ right-hander Slade Cecconi.

Lukes started each of the team’s four previous games in right field, but he’ll take a seat in this one against Diamondbacks’ right-hander Michael Soroka. Davis Schneider will start in his place and will bat leadoff for the Jays on Friday evening.

Springer, who was DHing today, fouled a ball off his foot in his second at-bat and then didn’t come back out for his third. The Jays quickly announced that his toe was fractured, so he’ll likely miss at least a few weeks. This could get Eloy Jiménez back to the majors; after a nice spring, he’s hit .281/.368/.406 through 10 games in Triple-A. If the Jays don’t want to make room on their 40-man roster, their only option would be to call up Jonatan Clase. In that case, Davis Schneider and Myler Straw could share Springer’s at-bats. Straw replaced him today.

Okamoto takes a seat after striking out four times during Friday’s contest against the White Sox. Ernie Clement takes over at the hot corner with Davis Schneider at the keystone. The 29-year-old third baseman is hitting .250 (11-for-50) with two homers and three RBI through 13 games in his first exposure to the majors.

It’s not uncommon for managers to try to get their bench players into the lineup at least once in the early stages of the season, which is presumably why Straw will get a shot to face Athletics lefty Jeffrey Springs in this one. Barger sat occasionally against southpaws last year and that figures to be the arrangement against this season with both Straw and Davis Schneider, who is in left field in place of Nathan Lukes on Saturday afternoon, on the bench as platoon options in right field.

Okamoto immediately slots into the heart of Toronto’s loaded lineup as the defending American League champions open their spring exhibition schedule. The 29-year-old infielder brings an extensive track record of success in Japan as a power-oriented bat with solid contact skills, a profile that should make his transition to the majors less volatile than most international imports. He’s been going outside the top 275 picks on average in NFBC drafts since early February, making him an intriguing late-round flyer for fantasy managers. Here is the full lineup: Ernie Clement (2B), Andrés Giménez (SS), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (1B), Alejandro Kirk (C), Addison Barger (RF, Okamoto (3B), Daulton Varsho (DH), Davis Schneider (LF), Nathan Lukes (CF).

It’s labrum surgery. The Jays had indicated that Santander would be healthy this year after last year’s shoulder issues, but obviously things didn’t respond as hoped after he resumed baseball activities. This opens things back up with a Blue Jays lineup that had seemed set with Kazuma Okamoto essentially replacing Bo Bichette as the one real change from last year. As things stand now, they’ll probably go back to using a Nathan Lukes/Davis Schneider platoon in left field, though maybe Joey Loperfido could enter the mix. Santander would probably return around the All-Star break in a best-case scenario.

Schneider got the start with left-hander Blake Snell on the mound, and he greeted Snell with a solo homer on the first pitch of the game. He also drew a walk while getting the start over Nathan Lukes. It’ll likely be Lukes back in the outfield against Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 6 of the World Series on Friday, but Schneider will certainly be available off the bench against any southpaws.

Springer was able to run in the outfield and hit off a velocity machine, and Blue Jays manager John Schneider has insinuated that Springer will be available off the bench. The 36-year-old will sit with Bo Bichette the designated hitter, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa at second base. Nathan Lukes will also sit against southpaw Blake Snell with Davis Schneider leading off in left field. The full lineup for Toronto: Davis Schneider LF, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 1B, Bo Bichette DH, Alejandro Kirk C, Daulton Varsho CF, Ernie Clement 3B, Addison Barger RF Kiner-Falefa 2B, and Andrés Giménez at SS.

Bichette makes his highly anticipated return to the Jays’ lineup and should provide a boost to an offense that was already firing on all cylinders heading into the fall classic. Here’s the full lineup that the Jays will roll out against left-hander Blake Snell on baseball’s biggest stage on Friday: George Springer (DH), Davis Schneider (LF), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (1B), Bo Bichette (2B), Alejandro Kirk (C), Daulton Varsho (CF), Ernie Clement (3B), Myles Straw (RF) and Andrés Giménez (SS).