The Buffalo Bisons are going to have a former World Series MVP in their lineup when they open a 12-game road trip Tuesday night in Rochester.
Toronto Blue Jays outfielder George Springer, who has been limited to four games this season due to oblique and quad issues, will be joining the Herd on an injury rehab assignment for the opener of their six-game series against the Red Wings in Frontier Field.
"I don't want to speculate on how many games. It's all about him feeling right to come back to the big leagues and feeling healthy," Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said on a video call prior to Monday night's game in Boston. "It could take one game, it could take five, it could take 10."
Springer, 31, signed a six-year, $150 million free agent contract with the Blue Jays over the winter after playing the last seven years for the Houston Astros. He was the World Series MVP in 2017 when the Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games in a championship later tainted by the revelations of the Astros' trash can-banging system for stealing signs.
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Springer is 3 for 15 with two home runs for the Blue Jays this season and has not played since May 2. Montoyo said Springer will play five innings Tuesday in the outfield, and then the Blue Jays will see how he feels for future games.Â
"It's going to be an everyday deal communicating with him and Casey Candaele to see what he saw and go from there," Montoyo said, referring to the Bisons' manager. "Now that he's gone to rehab assignment, he feels 100%. So when he comes back, he should be able to play in the outfield. He's not coming back to be a DH."
The Bisons were off Monday after dropping four of six games against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in Trenton, N.J., to finish their second homestand there 5-7. Once 9-3, the Bisons are 17-17 and are tied with Lehigh Valley for third place in the Northeast Division of Triple-A East. Rochester, in its first year as a Washington affiliate, is 14-22 and in fifth place.
The teams play night games at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. There are 1 p.m. matinees slated for Thursday and Sunday. Frontier Field is about 70 minutes from Buffalo, accessible from Exit 47 on the Thruway via I-490.
Tuesday's game features two-for-one tickets at the club's web site. There will be postgame fireworks following the games Friday and Saturday night. Tickets are $20 and $15 in advance, and $22 and $17 on the day of the game. There are sections for vaccinated and unvaccinated fans. Tickets can be ordered online, purchased in person or by calling (585) 423-WING.
