Justin Smoak hits the IL sending Blue Jays lineup into chaos

In a season that’s been both unsuccessful and all over the place, Justin Smoak was someone the Blue Jays have been able to lean on - on and off the field.

That’s no longer going to be the case for a bit, as the big first baseman is reportedly hitting the injured list, along with exceedingly unproductive starter Edwin Jackson.

Smoak had been hitting .225/.364/.423 with 12 home runs. Those are hardly exceptional numbers but they were among the best on a Blue Jays club starved for offence.

Perhaps more importantly, the team was hoping to flip him at the trade deadline, which, depending on the severity of the injury, could be an issue. Even if he’s healthy after just the 10 days, an IL stint for a leg injury has to make potential suitors nervous.

Jackson’s trip to the IL means the Blue Jays will need a starter for Saturday, which was already a fair assumption because of how badly he got shelled on Monday/in general. Shafer won’t be that guy, which means that either there’s another roster move coming or one of Nick Kingham or Sam Gaviglio gets the call.

On the position player side, Billy McKinney will help bolster a thin outfield, he’s hit just .211/.322/.395 in Triple-A since being demoted, so it’d be hard to expect him to provide much of an offensive boost.

With Smoak out, Rowdy Tellez will get the majority of the at-bats at first base while the team cycles players through the DH hole. There’s some upside in keeping everyone fresh, but it pales in comparison with the loss of Smoak.

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