Opinion | Injuries start to find the Blue Jays, who have already found the bottom of the AL East

The Blue Jays made it through almost a third of the season without having to deal with any major injuries, but it appears as though their string of good luck has finally run out.

Catcher Danny Jansen was placed on the 10-day injured list Friday with a strained groin and, on Saturday, centre-fielder Kevin Kiermaier was forced to leave a 9-7 loss to the Minnesota Twins after two innings because of lower back discomfort.

Jansen will be out for at least another week, likely longer. Kiermaier’s status is uncertain but it’s safe to assume he’ll miss Sunday’s series finale at Target Field. Considering the complicated nature of back injuries, it would come as no surprise if a stint on the IL begins the same day.

The Jays have done well staying out of the trainer’s room. According to Spotrac, they have missed the third fewest number of games because of injuries and only the Cleveland Guardians have placed a smaller number of players on the IL.

The setbacks the Jays had earlier in the year were also minor. Relievers Adam Cimber, Zach Pop and Mitch White were easily replaceable. Hyun-Jin Ryu and Chad Green were recovering from injuries experienced last season and utility infielder Santiago Espinal barely played even when healthy.

Well, the Jays can’t be feeling as fortunate anymore. The departure of Jansen, who was seeing increased playing time amidst Alejandro Kirk’s struggles, was tough enough. Having Kiermaier go down around the same time makes the situation even more problematic.

Kiermaier has been one of the Jays’ most valuable players this season. He ranks second on the team with a .319 average and a .511 slugging percentage while his .366 on-base percentage is third. The 33-year-old trails only Bo Bichette and Matt Chapman in Fangraphs’ wins above replacement with 1.6.

All this from a No. 9 hitter who was signed because of his glove. Kiermaier’s defence has been as advertised, yet few expected this offence. With George Springer and Daulton Varsho struggling, Kiermaier has been almost single-handedly propping an outfield that ranks 19th in the majors with a .725 OPS.

Kiermaier’s departure Saturday was felt by the Jays almost right away. During the fifth inning, Minnesota’s Willi Castro hit a deep fly ball to the warning track in centre. Varsho, Kiermaier’s replacement, attempted to make a leaping catch and instead knocked the ball over the fence for a two-run shot.

Two pitches later, Matt Wallner hit another fly ball to centre. Varsho read the play well and nearly made a highlight-reel grab but the ball missed his glove by an inch. Neither catch was easy; both likely would have been made by Kiermaier, whose reputation is based off making those plays.

The Jays should have seen the setbacks coming. Based on track records, it wasn’t a question if Jansen and Kiermaier would go down but when and for how long.

Kiermaier, who appeared to tweak his back while fielding a single in the first inning, has played 130 or more games just once in an 11-year career. He has appeared in more than 100 games just twice since the start of 2017. Until Saturday, he was on pace to play in 131 with the Jays. Jansen has been on the IL twice in each of the last two seasons.

The injuries risk further exposing the Jays’ lack of depth. Varsho will move to centre during Kiermaier’s absence while Whit Merrifield likely will be pressed into everyday duties in left. That leaves Cavan Biggio and Ernie Clement to get the bulk of the reps at second.

Neither of those three options are particularly inspiring. Merrifield performed well earlier in the year to secure an everyday job, but his offensive numbers look much better at second than they do in left because he lacks power. While Biggio homered after coming off the bench on Saturday, he’s batting a woeful .167 with a .578 OPS on the season.

The backup catcher options aren’t any better. The Jays will be careful not to overwork Kirk, who caught three consecutive days just twice last season, which means journeyman Tyler Heineman is going to play. Heineman is a competent defender but he doesn’t offer much with the bat, as evidenced by his .210 career average.

The loss of two key contributors wouldn’t have been that big of a deal if the rest of the team was performing as expected, but it’s not. Outside of Bichette, who had another monster day on Saturday with a homer, a triple and four RBIs, the Jays have been struggling to find consistency.

The injuries also wouldn’t have been an issue if the Jays built up a lead in the standings when everyone was healthy. They did the opposite with a 9-16 record in May, which dropped them to last place, 10 1/2 games back of Tampa Bay.

Almost every team above the Jays has been forced to deal with more adversity. The Yankees have placed 16 players on the IL, the Red Sox 15 and the Rays 12. The Jays are well below at seven, possibly soon moving to eight.

The lack of significant injuries was the primary reason to remain somewhat skeptical of the Jays’ ability to overcome a sluggish month. They fell to the back of the pack when health was on their side and will have to play catch-up while missing some big pieces, with other setbacks sure to follow.

After performing terribly over the last three weeks, the margin for error was already much smaller than it should be for a Jays team that views itself as a contender. Losing Jansen and Kiermaier during the same series just made the situation a bit more dire.

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