ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Daulton Varsho didn’t expect surgery to be the recommendation when he went to visit a specialist last week. His right shoulder, inflamed since he dove for a Zach Neto liner Aug. 23 in a win over the Los Angeles Angels, had been getting better. Even when he was set back by a collision with hulking first baseman Pete Alonso during a Sept. 10 win against the New York Mets, he’d quickly resumed trending upwards.
Nonetheless, after Dr. Keith Meister read Varsho’s MRI results, he told the Toronto Blue Jays outfielder there were two options — get a platelet-rich plasma injection that might help heal his shoulder but leave him at risk for worsening the damage in his rotator cuff down the road, or get it repaired properly in an operation right now.
A second opinion from Dr. Neal ElAttrache offered the same advice and “basically they were the ones that made my decision,” said Varsho, who is scheduled for surgery Monday with Meister. “You always try to avoid surgery as much as possible. But obviously when hearing that it could get worse and then the recovery process is a lot longer, kind of have to trust the opinions of two of the best doctors in the country.”
Ending the season in this way, one in which he produced a WAR of 3.3 as calculated by FanGraphs and 4.8 as calculated by Baseball Reference while batting .214/.293/.407 with 18 homers and 58 RBIs, “sucks,” said Varsho.
But “there’s a little hope that at least I’m going into the off-season doing all the rehab and being able to not miss a ton of games. If I would have done this at the beginning of the season and I missed the whole year, that would have really sucked,” he added. “It is what it is, got to live with it and just crush the rehab process.”
What exactly that looks like will depend on how much damage Meister must repair once he’s in the shoulder. The thinking right now is that the rehab process might bleed into the early part of spring training, although Varsho’s intention is “to be full-go by then.”
The bigger impact will be on the type of winter work he does, as he’ll be in a splint for six weeks after the procedure. At the beginning of each off-season, Varsho breaks down his performance and examines “how teams attacked me and trying to make adjustments off that.”
“Pretty much I do that on my own, knowing what I’ve learned throughout the season, what’s worked and what hasn’t, then talking to the hitting coaches and being able to have a plan for the future,” he continued. “Obviously, this off-season is going to be a little bit different with rehab and trying to figure out when I’m able to hit and all that stuff. I’ll be in good hands when that time comes, there’ll be a ton of eyes watching me.”
There will also be a support network during his recuperation as Varsho’s already picked the brain of offensive co-ordinator Don Mattingly, who recently underwent shoulder surgery. George Springer also connected him with Michael Brantley, who had the same procedure.
“Every once in a while, I’ll kind of see what am I supposed to be feeling,” Varsho said. “It’s nice to have somebody who’s been through this process.”
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HEINEMAN’S HOME: Tyler Heineman figured his season was over when the Boston Red Sox designated him for assignment Sept. 14. Players who change teams this month aren’t playoff eligible so he assumed he’d pass through waivers unclaimed and then go home.
Instead, the Blue Jays claimed him for a third stint with the club; he played 10 games in 2022 and 19 more last year. In that way, it’s a happy turn of events capping a busy year of transactions that began with the Mets claiming him off waivers last December, his sale to the Red Sox on Feb. 2 and his recent claim by Toronto.
“Obviously a pleasant surprise,” said Heineman, who added that rejoining the Blue Jays “has been different for sure in the beginning, changing organizations again. I’ve done it many times before, so it’s something I’m used to. And I couldn’t be happier to be back in a place that I’ve been last two years and a place I really enjoy and clubhouse I really enjoy. It’s awesome.”
Heineman has certainly been well travelled since the Houston Astros made him an eighth-round pick in 2012. He’s appeared in 109 big-league games with the Blue Jays, Red Sox, Pirates, Giants and Marlins, along with 741 minor-league games in the Houston, Milwaukee, Arizona, Miami, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Toronto, Pittsburgh and Boston systems.
Many things feel familiar for him with the Blue Jays but “there are a couple of adjustments,” Heineman said. “Different team, different chemistry and I have to fit into that. I can be myself, but I have to be mindful that it’s the end of the season, these guys have had a long grind as team and I’m coming in with 10 days left. It’s a lot of feeling stuff out and trying to adapt to them instead of anyone else having to adapt to me.”
KIRK’S WHEELS: Alejandro Kirk’s first career triple in Saturday’s 3-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays gave manager John Schneider an idea.
“I feel like if Kirky gets a triple, you should win the game automatically — that should be a new rule for MLB to listen to,” he said with a grin. “Fitting place here at the Trop, didn’t have Spencer (Horwitz) scoring from first on a Kirky triple on my bingo card. Nice that we got the ball for him and the stars were aligned.”
While Kirk’s sprint speed may rank in baseball’s fourth percentile, his work behind the plate has him firmly among the game’s elite, his pitch framing sitting in the 95th percentile and his catcher’s caught stealing above average in the 94th.
His throwing prowess was on display Saturday when he caught Brandon Lowe trying to steal second and later teamed up with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on a clever pickoff of Jonathan Aranda at third base. He’s now thrown out 18 of 53 runners, 34 per cent, trying to steal second, leaving him tied for fourth in the majors with a catcher’s caught stealing above average of six.
Kirk’s gains in throwing are no accident, as he’s worked to improve his quickness as well as his arm-strength. The triple, on the other hand, was a byproduct of Jose Lowe misplaying his drive to right field, leading to an entertaining romp around the bases.
“It was an exciting moment,” said Kirk, who got the ball after Guerrero made a point of collecting it from a Major League Baseball authenticator. “I’m going to keep it for sure.”
