Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was out of the lineup for the second day in a row Sunday, sitting out the final home game of the series against the New York Yankees due to tightness in his lower back.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider revealed Saturday that the problem first appeared during Friday’s 8-5 victory. The team is hopeful that giving Guerrero some time off will be enough to get him feeling better and help him avoid what would be his first career trip to the injured list in eight major league seasons.
“Back was a little tight (Friday), and he’s been kind of grinding a little bit, so just wanted to give him a blow,” Schneider said.
Guerrero, 27, is batting .280 on the season with three home runs and 27 RBIs across 68 games. His power output has dipped compared to recent years — he had hit at least 23 home runs in each of the previous five seasons. He has also appeared in at least 156 games in each of those five seasons.
The five-time All-Star carries a career batting average of .288 with 186 home runs and 618 RBIs over 1,043 games, all with Toronto.
