Daulton Varsho was reinstated from the injured list for Saturday’s game against the Chicago Cubs, a move that came after he resumed hitting this week. Shane Bieber is set to return to the Blue Jays’ rotation to start Monday, while Charles McAdoo and Brendon Li
Daulton Varsho’s return didn’t arrive quietly for the Blue Jays.
Reinstated from the injured list and active for Saturday’s game against the Chicago Cubs, the 29-year-old outfielder gave Toronto a jolt with a three-run home run as the Blue Jays rallied in a come-from-behind win.
It was a clean swing of momentum after Varsho landed on the injured list on June 10 with left wrist inflammation. He resumed hitting this week, and now his spot is back in the lineup.
The decision also shapes what comes next on the mound. In a corresponding move, infielder Charles McAdoo and lefty reliever Brendon Little were optioned to Triple-A Buffalo.
For the players who stayed, the timing mattered. Bieber’s return has been lined up for Monday, and it arrives at a moment when the Blue Jays have been leaning on his rotation spot as a bullpen day for much of the season.
Bieber is back after a mid-season acquisition last summer. With Toronto, he managed only seven regular-season starts while recovering from Tommy John surgery he had undergone the season before with the Cleveland Guardians. In those 40.1 innings, Bieber posted a 3.57 ERA and a 1.017 WHIP.
Varsho’s reinstatement was paired with another bullpen presence. Reliever Lazaro Estrada was also reinstated from the injured list for Saturday’s game.
Estrada has had his own long detour. He hit the injured list with a shoulder impingement back in April after making only one appearance for the Blue Jays. In that lone outing. he pitched four innings out of the bullpen in a 6-3 loss to the Chicago White Sox. held Chicago off the board and struck out three.
Little, by contrast, has been fighting through recent results. The lefty was optioned down to Triple-A Buffalo back in April after a rough start to the season. then managed only one more appearance in the majors. That came in Friday’s game against the Cubs. when he gave up four runs in one inning during a 16-2 loss.
McAdoo’s time in Toronto has been brief and tight as well. In his cup of coffee in the majors, he batted .160 with one home run in eight games.
On the season. Varsho enters his return with a .738 OPS and five home runs in 64 games—numbers that make Saturday’s swing feel like more than a roster move. With Bieber set to start Monday. the Blue Jays are shifting from careful temporary fixes back toward the rotation help they’ve been treating like a bullpen option all season long.
Toronto Blue Jays Daulton Varsho Lazaro Estrada Shane Bieber Chicago Cubs Charles McAdoo Brendon Little injured list Triple-A Buffalo Tommy John surgery shoulder impingement
Varsho back and immediately hits a 3-run shot… baseball is wild.
So they just sent like 2 guys to Triple-A but Bieber starts Monday? That sounds like the bullpen’s been getting cooked all season if they’re treating it like a schedule move.
I swear Bieber always comes back and then goes down again. Tommy John or whatever, and then the stats look good for like a week and then it’s back to “injury management.” Also they said wrist inflammation like it’s not serious? lol
Wait, why is everybody getting optioned to Buffalo like it’s not a real thing? McAdoo batting .160 in 8 games sounds brutal, but maybe they’re just trying to give him a break? And Brendon Little gave up 4 runs in one inning… that’s basically how my fantasy team feels.