NEW YORK -- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is back, and in the middle of a crowded, complicated AL Wild Card race. The Blue Jays need the best version of their star to return.
After playing in one rehab game on Thursday for the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays, Guerrero has since passed all testing required to clear concussion protocols. In a countermove, Davis Schneider has been optioned back to Triple-A Buffalo one day after rejoining the club. Schneider is expected to remain an option for the Blue Jays when rosters expand from 26 to 28 players on Sept. 1.
Guerrero has been on the seven-day concussion IL since last weekend, when he collided with Yankees shortstop George Lombard Jr. on an awkward play at third base. Lombard’s left knee and thigh collided hard with Guerrero’s head, and Guerrero immediately reported concussion symptoms with a headache that night and the next morning.
Now that he’s back, manager John Schneider and the Blue Jays hope this can act as a physical and mental reset, anything to help Guerrero find that “normal” version of himself that’s been missing for much of 2026.
“He’s still one of our best players,” Schneider said, “and physically, he’s feeling normal. Hopefully he can be back to his normal version of himself. That’s all we’re looking for, nothing crazy. It would be great if he went on one of those crazy heaters like he did in the postseason, but it’s about hitting the ball hard, playing defense and being Vlad.”
That Clearwater appearance was a blast from the past for Guerrero, rehabbing with the Single-A Dunedin squad he starred with in 2017. That team was stacked with top prospects, from Guerrero to Bo Bichette, Cavan Biggio and Danny Jansen. The manager? A young Schneider.
Guerrero doubled and walked twice in his rehab game Thursday, which was all the Blue Jays needed to see.
There’s hope within the organization that this recent stint on the IL, unfortunate as it’s been, could also allow Guerrero to rest up the rest of his body and come back fresher. He’s dealt with nagging back issues this season along with some hamstring issues, but he is rarely one to miss a game. As long as Guerrero is fully past this concussion -- which Schneider takes very seriously after being diagnosed with seven during his own Minor League catching career -- a fresh return to the lineup could help drag him out of this season-long slump.
“He looks good physically,” Schneider said. “Watching him hit, I don’t want to say ‘refreshed,’ but he definitely looks good. Hopefully that cleared up all of the other stuff and he can be himself for the last month of the season.”
So far, nothing’s had the power to do that. Guerrero is batting .263 with just seven home runs and a .693 OPS over 115 games. He hasn’t hit a home run at Rogers Centre this season, either, the strangest stat of all in a season that’s been impossible to explain.
Schneider has spent the past decade of his career believing in Guerrero, though, all the way back to their days in Dunedin, Fla., together. There’s been no indication that the Blue Jays will move Guerrero from his usual third spot in the lineup, and if Toronto is really going to take a run at this postseason, it needs to be Guerrero back out in front, leading the charge.