The Toronto Blue Jays are entering a pivotal stretch with respect to their season and their deadline plans. At least in the short term, they’ll have to do without their most productive player. That’s because the Blue Jays placed infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa on the injured list on Tuesday with a sprained left knee. In a corresponding move, the team recalled infielder Leo Jimenez from Triple-A Buffalo.
Kiner-Falefa will head to the shelf leading the Blue Jays in Wins Above Replacement. He’s hit .292/.338/.420 (117 OPS+) while posting impressive defensive metrics. He originally joined the Blue Jays over the winter, signing a two-year pact worth $15 million.
The 29-year-old infielder told the Toronto Star’s Mike Wilner Tuesday that he hopes to be back by mid- to late August, despite initially thinking his injury could have been season-ending.
Kiner-Falefa’s extended absence makes it all the less likely that Toronto is able to get back into the playoff hunt ahead of the July 30 trade deadline. The Blue Jays are already eight games back of the nearest playoff spot, the third and final wild-card position, making it a distinct possibility that they look to trade veterans over the coming weeks. Among those: first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and shortstop Bo Bichette, both of whom are slated to reach free agency at the conclusion of the 2025 season.
Jimenez, 23, hit .271/.416/.431 across 57 Triple-a games this season. It’s worth noting that the Blue Jays likely could have done without his presence were it not for Orelvis Martinez’s 80-game suspension stemming from a failed performance-enhancing drug test. Nevertheless, Jimenez will be making his big-league debut and would seem to have a chance to establish himself as a potential long-term member of the Blue Jays lineup.
The Blue Jays will continue their four-game series against the Houston Astros on Tuesday night. Toronto enters having lost three of its last four games.
