Blue Jays’ Varsho to start season on IL, Schneider and Heineman make team

DUNEDIN, Fla. – Davis Schneider and Tyler Heineman will break camp with the Toronto Blue Jays, while Gold Glove centre-fielder Daulton Varsho is opening the season on the injured list, manager John Schneider revealed Saturday.

A handful of other decisions are still to be made before the club’s 26-man roster is set, some of them in the rotation and bullpen tied to Max Scherzer’s status after his scheduled outing against the Minnesota Twins.

Also to be determined is who covers centre in Varsho’s absence, with Myles Straw, Nathan Lukes, Alan Roden and Steward Berroa in the mix there.

The Blue Jays had hoped Varsho, who underwent shoulder surgery in September, could play in the outfield this week but when that didn’t happen, the decision to start him on the IL was made.

“He’s making a ton of progress with the throwing, and we have a very specific plan for him to hopefully join us as quickly as he can,” said John Schneider. “If that looks like centre field every day, great. If it looks like it may be a couple of days on and off, and he can DH, great. Love what he’s doing offensively and the adjustments he’s made. But just from how it affects everyone else on the roster right now, it just really didn’t make sense to keep him as a primary DH for probably a couple of weeks.”

Varsho will stay in Florida for the time being – he’ll make a quick trip up to Toronto to collect his Gold Glove on opening day – and work with Kevin Kiermaier, who is coaching the club’s outfielders after retiring at the end of last season. Eventually, he’ll get into some games at triple-A Buffalo before returning.

“We’re going to try to expedite it as much as we can while he’s here (in Florida),” said Schneider. “And then I think once he’s gotten the outfield part on lock here, we’ll get him to Buffalo. And if it’s a handful of games, great. If it’s five, great. But I think the overall goal is going to be sometime (in April) he’s back.”