Commentary: Blue Jays Need to Pull the Plug on Their Leadoff Hitter

During the 2025 MLB season, Toronto Blue Jays designated hitter George Springer was arguably the team’s MVP.

In his fifth season with the Blue Jays, and in his 12th MLB season overall, Springer turned back the clock in his age 34/35 season, batting .309 with 32 home runs and .959 OPS, good for an OPS+ of 160, meaning he was 60% better than league average.

He also racked up 4.8 bWAR, making him an incredibly valuable player for Toronto.

For his amazing regular-season performance, Springer won the Silver Slugger award as the American League’s top DH, and he finished seventh in AL MVP voting.

To top it off, he had a phenomenal playoff performance and nearly helped lead the Blue Jays to a World Series win, though they ultimately fell in seven games to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

This season, however, has been an absolute nightmare for the veteran.

Blue Jays Need to Drop George Springer Down the Lineup

Through 47 games in the 2026 MLB season, Springer’s numbers have completely fallen off a cliff across the board.

He is batting just .204 with a .633 OPS and an OPS+ of 74, meaning he is batting 26% worse than league average. He also has a -0.4 bWAR, meaning he’s playing below replacement level.

He also doesn’t play the field anymore, having played all 47 games as a DH.

Yet, Blue Jays manager John Schneider continues to trot Springer out there every day, batting him first in the lineup, and giving him the most at-bats of anyone on the team.

When will the madness stop?

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Springer has been a good player for Toronto, a fan favorite, and someone whom everyone in the clubhouse, on the coaching staff, and in the front office respects.

But if the ultimate goal is to win another World Series, the Blue Jays are not going to accomplish that by having Springer batting leadoff anymore.

Of all the Blue Jays’ hitters, Springer has an on-base percentage only higher than that of one other regular, Blue Jays shortstop Andres Gimenez, a defensive wizard not known for his hitting skills. Gimenez also bats at the bottom of the lineup, as he should be.

Springer, though, bats first and gets more chances to hit than anyone else on the team. It just doesn’t make sense.

For whatever reason, Schneider refuses to move Springer out of the leadoff spot, and the Blue Jays keep losing.

The team is currently 33-36, and while they are in the American League Wild Card hunt, it’s only because the league has been so weak this year.

Overall, the Blue Jays have been a mediocre ballclub this season. But there is still over half of the season left, so the team can make changes to get back on track. Moving Springer out of leadoff is one of them.

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Blue Jays Should Move Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to Leadoff

To replace Springer as the Blue Jays’ leadoff hitter, Schneider already has the right man on the roster in first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

The Blue Jays’ highest-paid player has also struggled this season, as he’s hit just three home runs, a shockingly low total for a 1B with as big a stick as he possesses. There’s no way around it: Guerrero has been a massive disappointment this season, especially given his postseason heroics last year, where he was the ALCS MVP.

But as poorly as Guerrero has performed this season in comparison to the expectations, one stat he is still doing well in is the one that Springer isn’t: getting on base.

In 67 games played, Guerrero has a .375 OBP, the highest mark on the entire Blue Jays’ team. That’s a great number, and one that makes sense considering his ability to identify pitches and take walks.

Guerreroa also needs a shake-up, and Schneider has moved him out of his customary No. 3 spot in the lineup to bat No. 1 and No. 2 in the past week as an experiment.

But it’s time to make the decision final and allow Guerrero to take over leadoff and move Springer way down in the lineup.

With Guerrero hitting the first, the Blue Jays at least have someone who gets on base at a high clip, something that Springer just isn’t doing this year, which is the leadoff man’s job.

Springer, meanwhile, should be dropped down to sixth or seventh in the order, which would take less pressure off him, while allowing him to also drive in runners ahead of him, as he can still occasionally run into one.

It’s not going to be an easy conversation for Schneider to have with Springer, who has the second-most leadoff home runs in MLB history with 65, just behind Rickey Henderson at 81. The Blue Jays want him to break that record, and they’ve given him plenty of rope to do so.

But it’s time to cut the cord on Springer at leadoff. If the Blue Jays are serious about winning, he simply can’t keep hitting first, and this is a change the team needs to make immediately, or else they risk having a wasted season after entering it with such high expectations.

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