DUNEDIN, Fla. -- George Springer was scratched from the lineup for Tuesday’s Grapefruit League game against the Phillies due to left abdominal tightness, though the Blue Jays announced the move was made as a precaution after Springer went through a full workout.

The star outfielder isn’t the only Toronto player dealing with something with three weeks left in Spring Training.

Nate Pearson, the club's top prospect, who strained his right groin on March 1 against the Pirates, played long toss from 120 feet on Tuesday, and he plans to do so again on Thursday. It’s possible that Pearson could throw a side session over the weekend, and even though the club considers this injury minor, it’s unfortunate timing.

Pearson is missing some valuable time to ramp up, which could lead to right-hander Ross Stripling taking Pearson's spot in the rotation if the latter isn’t ready for the start of the season. His timeline should be much clearer as the weekend approaches.

Right-hander Julian Merryweather is also missing some time in camp as he deals with lower back tightness. The Blue Jays consider Merryweather to be “day to day," but he won’t be seeing any game action this week as originally planned. Much like Pearson, this cuts into the ramp-up time for Merryweather, who was being stretched out by Toronto as he could be used in a variety of forms this season, from a hybrid role to a back-end bullpen arm.

Lastly, Minor League right-hander Bryan Baker, who’s in camp as a non-roster invitee, is seeing a doctor Tuesday for a follow-up scan on his right elbow. Baker’s injury was considered minor when general manager Ross Atkins spoke about it five days ago, but he did mention that is has some “UCL involvement.” The club says that Baker hopes to begin a throwing program soon.

Matz stays sharp in Spring Training
Coming off a strong Grapefruit Legaue debut, Steven Matz gave the Blue Jays three scoreless innings in Tuesday’s 4-1 win over the Phillies at TD Ballpark. Matz allowed just one hit and struck out three, throwing 31 of his 43 pitches for strikes. With his fastball averaging 94.8 mph and his changeup working early, this was everything you’d want to see from the left-hander at this stage in Spring Training.

Matz’s changeup was especially impressive, earning four whiffs and some weak foul-ball contact. He went to it on back-to-back pitches against Rhys Hoskins, too, showing a good feel for the pitch with three weeks remaining until Opening Day.

“When you can go back-to-back like that, it’s all about arm speed, it’s all about making it look like a fastball," Matz said. "It feels really good. That’s really all I can say. It’s good feedback from the hitters when I can do that to a good hitter like Rhys.”

Experimenting at the corners

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. got the start at third base with Lourdes Gurriel Jr. over at first, a position that Gurriel has been getting some reps at through camp. Guerrero wasn’t challenged much, but he made a routine play on an Andrew Knapp grounder in the second, moving to his left a few steps and throwing across to Gurriel for the out. Guerrero later made a strong throw across on a Ronald Torreyes grounder in the sixth.

Gurriel, meanwhile, made a great play on a sharp grounder down the line in the third, sliding to make the stab right on the line. From the ground, Gurriel twisted his body and threw back over his left shoulder to Matz, who had raced over to cover for the out. Gurriel won’t see much time at first, but this gives manager Charlie Montoyo some late-game flexibility.

“Going back to play the infield takes a lot of work and practice right now,” Gurriel said. “I’m working on my footwork with [third-base coach] Luis Rivera. Every other day, we’ve been working out there. Hopefully I can be ready soon, and whenever they need me, I’ll be there."

Extras from Dunedin

• Guerrero took his third walk of the spring compared to just one strikeout, and he has been working some deep counts. Yes, his bat is what made him special coming up as a prospect, but it’s his plate approach that allows that bat to shine when he’s at his best.

• Bo Bichette made some of his best contact in camp with a single off a Matt Moore knuckle curve in the third. The liner through the left side of the infield left Bichette’s bat at 103.1 mph, according to Statcast. Marcus Semien also ripped a double into the left-field corner and he looks just fine in that second spot in the order.

• Veteran left-hander Francisco Liriano continues to hold up his end of the bargain in the competition for a spot in the bullpen. Liriano tossed another scoreless inning -- his third of the spring -- and struck out one.

• Reliever Rafael Dolis looked much sharper on Tuesday after lacking control his last time out. Dolis needed just 12 pitches to work a clean inning with one strikeout. He’ll be right there with Jordan Romano and Tyler Chatwood in high-leverage spots, assuming Kirby Yates grabs the closer’s role.

• Ryan Borucki was sitting at 97 mph and topped out at 97.7 mph, comfortably above his average of 94.8 mph from 2020. Keep an eye on whether he sustains this extra bit of velocity through camp and into the season. Borucki got to his slider and changeup, too, getting two whiffs on three sliders.