LOS ANGELES — The Toronto Blue Jays didn’t just lose Game 3 for the 2025 World Series on Monday. They might have lost George Springer for some time, too.

The star designated hitter was not in the Toronto lineup for Game 4 on Tuesday, a day after exiting Game 3 due to what manager John Schneider called right side discomfort. The injury occurred on a swing in the seventh inning, with Springer calling for athletic trainers and grabbing his side.

Advertisement

He soon left the game and was replaced by Ty France at designated hitter and leadoff.

Schneider told reporters after the game that Springer was undergoing an MRI, and the team would know about his status the next day. On Tuesday, before lineups were posted, Schneider said the 36-year-old was “hour-to-hour and day-to-day” after undergoing the scans.

“I think swinging will be the key to … determine if he’s in there or not,” Schneider said. “But he was the first one here, a lot of treatment, a lot of work, and George is going to do everything he can to be ready.”

Advertisement

Springer’s presence in the World Series was already a major subplot, given Dodger Stadium’s hostility toward him after his participation in the 2017 Houston Astros’ cheating scheme. He was greeted with loud and persistent boos for the entirety of Game 3, from his pregame introduction to his exit due to injury.

Missing Springer comes with one small silver lining for the Blue Jays, thanks to another injured player in Bo Bichette, who is still making his way back from a left knee sprain suffered in September. Bichette started at second base in Games 1 and 3 but had to leave early in both games to manage his workload and limit his baserunning.

Advertisement

[Get more Blue Jays news: Toronto team feed]

With Springer out for Game 4, Bichette is in at DH and batting third, with Isiah Kiner-Falefa starting at second base. The Blue Jays will face Shohei Ohtani in Game 4.

Despite being well on the wrong side of 30, Springer posted a career season this year for the Blue Jays, who won the AL East for the first time in 10 years.

The Blue Jays reached the 2025 World Series thanks to a historically dominant lineup, but that lineup now has two of its three theoretically best hitters — Springer and Bichette — battling to stay on the field.

It’s another obstacle for a team down 2-1 in a World Series in which they weren’t exactly favorites to begin with.