DUNEDIN, Fla. — When the Toronto Blue Jays signed George Springer ahead of the 2021 season, the club did so with the hope he would be the straw that stirred its drink. He’s certainly had some great experiences in a Blue Jays uniform, but at the same time, it’s fair to say the 34-year-old has yet to author a signature moment with the organization.
Springer inked a six-year, $150-million contract that remains the largest in franchise history. He’s currently at the halfway point of the deal and, with that in mind, it’s reasonable to ask the outfielder how he would evaluate his performance during the contract so far.
“I would say there’s been some good, there’s been some bad, there’s been some ugly,” Springer responds.
When the Blue Jays failed to acquire any impact bats in the off-season, it became clear the club’s 2024 fortunes would hinge on the rebounds of several players who took a step backward last year.
Springer is a member of that group.
Though he did remain healthy — Springer played in 154 games, the second-highest number of his career — he hit .258/.327/.405 with 21 home runs and an OPS-plus of 102, just two points above the league average. He produced 2.1 wins above replacement, per FanGraphs — his lowest WAR since his rookie season, excluding the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign.
The Blue Jays desperately need Springer to return to some level of the star whom they signed, one who’s been a difference maker on winning teams in the past.
Don Mattingly, Blue Jays bench coach and offensive coordinator, is confident that can be the case.
“He wasn’t so bad last year,” Mattingly says. “He played great defence last year. But, as the season went on, he only got better. So, it’s really just trying to get him going early. But George is a great player, so that’s what gives me confidence. [You don’t worry about] guys that have been able to do it in the past.
“He’s still in great shape, his bat’s still coming through the zone,” continues Mattingly. “There’s nothing really changed in that regard. So, there’s nothing that says he’s going to go backward.”
Sportsnet chatted with Springer during a recent morning in camp to learn about his thoughts as he enters what’s shaping up to be a pivotal year in his tenure with the Blue Jays.
Sportsnet: When a season ends, do you have your own process that you go through to reflect on how the past year went?
George Springer: I’m not one to really dwell on stuff because I just feel that throughout the course of the year, you kind of know what’s happening. For me, I try to just shut off. Shut down and try to give myself a little bit of time to just process getting through another full season. I normally don’t like to spend a ton of time on it, but I will [reflect].
SN: What does that look like for you when you do ‘shut down’?
Springer: I’m not a baseball guy, if that makes sense. Like, I don’t watch baseball. I don’t listen to it, I don’t follow it. It’s just not me. It’s more of spending time with my kids. Spend time with my family in my happy place at home. Out by a fire pit, hanging out and relaxing to some degree.
SN: When you eventually got to that point last fall and reflected on your 2023, did you arrive at any conclusions?
Springer: That it was better than I thought it was. It was better than it looked. But I think, at the end of the day, that doesn’t matter. It was a lot of stuff that I was very proud of — obviously a heavy workload, being available for 162 [games]. I was very proud of the way I gave the team, the fans, everything I had every day. It might not necessarily have correlated into stats and numbers and all that good stuff, which I understand. But at the end of the day, I knew I gave every ounce of whatever it is I had all year. I thought defensively I was good. Offensively, there was a lot of good things that happened. The numbers may say one thing, but there’s a lot of times where I felt like I hit the ball hard and just hit it at somebody. But, yeah, that’s just the game.
SN: And then heading into the off-season after that reflection period, did you have any specific areas you were working on improving?
Springer: Nothing specifically. Just overall, as a whole, I need to be better. I want to be better. I owe that to the guys in this room and the fans. I don’t think it’s fair to just say I’ll concentrate on one thing because I just feel like there’s a lot of aspects that I think all of us could always be better at.
SN: You’re halfway into your contract. How do you evaluate the last three years for you and how you’ve done?
Springer: I would say there’s been some good, there’s been some bad, there’s been some ugly. Obviously, I’ve been hurt a little bit [in 2021 and 2022]. But that’s the game. That’s going to happen. I think for me, there’s a lot of stuff that happens that doesn’t show up on a boxscore. I’m not a big numbers guy. I obviously would always like to perform at my peak. I believe that I owe that to everybody.
SN: Every player looks at every season as important. But given all the factors, do you view this as your biggest year as a Blue Jays player? How do you frame it in your mind?
Springer: No, I never thought of that. Just because I think all of us understand, Yes, we want to win. There’s nobody who wants us to win more than the guys in this room. We owe that to everybody. To do it in our division is hard and to do it in this league is hard. It’s not as easy as everybody maybe thinks it is. This is the major leagues. But this is a very talented group. And I just think for us, it’s not about proving things or going out and trying to be something that we’re not. It’s about understanding who we are as a team. And that there is a standard that’s been set.
SN: You’ve got 10 years in the big leagues. You’ve got a World Series ring. You’re turning 35 this season. What’s left for George Springer to accomplish during his remaining time in the game?
Springer: Besides the obvious? I want to bring [a championship]here. I want to do that. I’m not a numbers guy, not an awards guy. My goal, just like it was when I got here was, at the end of it, to hopefully leave the guys who are here and the organization in a much better place. Hopefully, guys have learned something or taken something [from me]. That could be anything. But, hopefully, I was able to help somebody.
