Matt Olson's home run spree highlights Ben Verlander's team of the week
Braves slugger Matt Olson hit five homers in six days to retake the MLB lead. See who else made Ben Verlander's team of the week.SEPTEMBER 11, 2023
Whit Merrifield - Not in Monday's lineupMerrifield is not in the lineup for Monday's game against the Rangers.
ImpactMerrifield recorded a hit Sunday, but he also went just 1-for-19 (.053) over his last five games, so he will be held out for the second time in three days. Davis Schneider will man the keystone for the Blue Jays on Tuesday night.
SEPTEMBER 11, 2023•ROTOWIRE
Brandon Belt - Rejoins starting nineBelt (illness) is in the lineup for Monday's game against the Rangers.
ImpactA back issue and an illness prevented Belt from starting Toronto's last eight games, but he has recovered from both and is ready to return to action. He will serve as the designated hitter and bat cleanup for the Blue Jays on Monday night.
SEPTEMBER 11, 2023•ROTOWIRE
Erik Swanson - Returns from ILThe Blue Jays activated Swanson (back) from the 15-day injured list Monday.
ImpactAs anticipated, Swanson will rejoin the Toronto bullpen after a minimum-length stay on the shelf while he recovered from thoracic spine inflammation. Swanson delivered a perfect inning of relief in his lone rehab appearance at Triple-A Buffalo over the weekend and should be ready to step back into a key setup role in front of closer Jordan Romano.
SEPTEMBER 11, 2023•ROTOWIRE
Davis Schneider - Continues to rack up walksSchneider went 0-for-2 with two walks and a run scored Sunday in the Blue Jays' 5-2 win over the Royals.
ImpactThe 24-year-old rookie has only moderately cooled down from his red-hot start to his big-league career with the calendar flipping in September. While starting at second base, third base or designated hitter in eight of the Blue Jays' first nine games of the month, Schneider is slashing .269/.486/.654 with six extra-base hits (one home run, one triple, five doubles), seven runs, five RBI and 10:12 BB:K. He should have a clear path to a near-everyday role while Matt Chapman (finger) is on the injured list, and even once Chapman returns, Schneider may have played well enough to keep getting regular playing time in a super-utility role.
SEPTEMBER 11, 2023•ROTOWIRE
MLB Power Rankings: Blue Jays thrive, award race talk and we have a new basement-dwellerJust three weeks remain in the regular season, so we turned to the award races and picked each team’s best bet at scoring some hardware.
SEPTEMBER 11, 2023•THEATHLETIC.COM
Taylor Clarke - Takes fifth lossClarke (2-5) allowed a run on one hit and struck out one over one inning to take the loss Sunday versus the Blue Jays.
ImpactClarke surrendered the tiebreaking solo home run to Kevin Kiermaier in the seventh inning. Over 6.2 innings since he returned from an elbow injury, he's allowed two runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out eight. It's one of his better stretches of a rough campaign in which he's posted a 5.47 ERA, 1.59 WHIP and 57:22 K:BB while adding 11 holds and two blown saves.
SEPTEMBER 11, 2023•ROTOWIRE
