George Springer is still in John Schneider's plans, and the Blue Jays manager made that clear as Toronto waits for the veteran's bat to wake up.
Schneider's message was steady. Springer has done this too long, seen too much, and earned enough trust for the Blue Jays to believe the turnaround can come fast.
That quote lands differently because Springer's 2026 line has slipped well below his standard. He is hitting .207 with a .639 OPS across 174 at-bats, and those are the numbers of a lineup drag, not a table-setter.
The split that jumps out is the power drought inside the slump. Springer has 5 home runs, but his overall slugging percentage sits at .351, which leaves Toronto short on damage near the top of the order.
Schneider's line about «swinging at the right pitches» also matters. Springer's problem, at least from the manager's view, is not a total collapse in approach. It is more about getting his swing decisions back in line often enough to let the results follow.
That is a big distinction for a veteran hitter. When a manager talks this way, he is usually saying the player is not lost at the plate, just out of sync for a stretch that has dragged longer than anyone wanted.
Toronto also does not have much room to wait around. The Blue Jays are 32-35, and a club sitting under .500 feels every cold streak from a regular expected to carry real lineup value.
Springer's slump is now a lineup problem
The trouble is not just the batting average. Springer has struck out 36 times against 18 walks, and that imbalance has kept too many innings from getting started cleanly when he is near the top of the card.
There is also a split that shows how uneven this season has become. In 79 at-bats as a designated hitter, Springer owns a .177 average and a .523 OPS, which tells you the bat has not picked up even when the defensive load is lighter.
Still, Schneider is betting on track record over panic. Springer's Statcast page shows an xwOBA of .301 against an actual wOBA of .285, which suggests the production has lagged behind the quality of some contact.
That does not erase the slump, but it does help explain why the Blue Jays are not rushing to bury him. One cleaner week can still change the shape of his line and settle the noise around his role.
For now, Schneider is taking the veteran route with a veteran player. The Blue Jays manager is trusting George Springer to find the right pitches again, because Toronto still needs his bat to be more than a name in the lineup.
Should the Blue Jays keep George Springer near the top of the lineup?
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