Certainly, the Toronto Blue Jays center fielder feels better than he did a few weeks ago, when every throw and swing seemed to leave him in agony. But he still talks about “managing” the problem and uses the phrase “it is what it is” often enough to make it clear that the issue is not behind him. “I’ve got to do a better job of hiding it,” Springer said of the visible pain he was feeling before the IL stint. “That’s my goal – just go out there and play. It doesn’t feel good, but there’s nobody on the field at this point on either side that really feels good. Well, oh well.” The bottom line is that he simply plans to make do with what his body allows, a reality the Blue Jays had to come to terms with as his elbow problems grew from June irritation to repeated setbacks. By using him at DH for now, even with the resulting lineup issues, they can still deliver the best batting order more often. “I’m not going to let it stop me — I’m going to play,” Springer said. “We’ve got to get to the end of the year and we’ll deal with things afterwards.” So while the resolution there can wait, far more urgent for the Blue Jays is what to do with the perennially confused Yusei Kikuchi, who again left them with more questions than answers, allowing six runs, three earned, in a 7- 3. Monday from the Baltimore Orioles. The loss, seventh in nine outings, was the type of wild affair that has become all too common in the left-hander’s starts. He looked strong out of the gate and deserved better in the first, when an Anthony Santander single beat a Ryan McKenna bloop double just short of the line by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Perhaps he could even be forgiven for Blue Jays’ Ryan Mountcastle’s two-run homer in the third, though a two-out walk to Santander that preceded it was avoidable. But a messy three-run fourth that allowed the game to unravel soon after the Blue Jays rallied for a pair on Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s two-run single. in the third that cut Baltimore’s lead to 3-2, it was disturbingly familiar. . A single error by Bo Bichette on a pitch by Jorge Mateo that took an odd hop started the trouble, but instead of picking up his teammate, Kikuchi continued to dig deep. Walked Terrin Vavra. He made an absurd pickoff attempt at second base that ended up in the outfield and advanced the runners. A fielder’s choice by Tyler Nevin brought in a run. McKenna’s RBI double brought in another and ended his night. An Adley Rutschman sacrifice fly by Trevor Richards closed the book on his night. “There are some things we’re working on. I’m trying to figure out what’s good and what’s bad,” Kikuchi said through interpreter Kevin Ando, adding that he had a rhythm early but lost it in the fourth inning. “I feel like we’re in between ups and downs right now.” With Ross Stripling returning from the injured list on Wednesday, the Blue Jays suddenly have options in the rotation thanks to Mitch White, a smart addition at the trade deadline who has impressed in two starts so far. While he’s not fully built and may be a two-time class guy for now, running with him is a possibility the club will definitely consider. Tellingly, when asked before the game if White, who started Saturday, could be used out of the bullpen in the coming days, interim manager John Schneider said, “at this point, probably not. … Things can change in a hurry.” During another lost night, they might well have. “Everything is on the table right now,” Snyder said when asked if it was possible for Kikuchi to skip the start to try to get him right. “We just want him to continue to focus on the things he’s working on. But having options and having other guys who can step into roles is good. And we will find out in the next few days.” While Schneider tried to highlight the positives in Kikuchi’s exit, he also noted that “it’s more urgency than patience right now – the season is winding down.” White was groomed with the Dodgers to fill a Stripling-style swingman role, so the potential for creative uses is there. And it’s worth remembering that there’s no real starting depth behind White, so if something happens elsewhere in the rotation, the Blue Jays are pretty bare. At the same time, it’s impossible to ignore that he’s now 6-14 in 20 games started by Kikuchi. Constantly digging out of big holes is a tough way to hit, and for a Blue Jays offense that’s still trying to get it clicking again, the constant need to rally during the current skid isn’t helping matters. “Playing in sync is important and right now we’re not doing that,” Schneider said. “That has to change in the future.” Some signs of improvement were visible on Monday. In the third, after a walk by Danny Jansen and Springer put men on second and third, a frustrated Guerrero threw up his hands after striking out on an 0-1 pitch by Kyle Brandis, but fought back to work, a walk that loaded the bases and set the stage for Gurriel’s two-run single. Guerrero also homered in the fifth while the Blue Jays plated two batters against the tougher Felix Bautista in the ninth. However, the type of consistent relentless approach they need at the plate was still absent. “I really liked Vladdy’s at-bat on a 3-2 walk to get to Gurriel for the bases-loaded single,” Schneider said. “We’ve got to do more of that down the stretch and put more runs on the board and not have guys go down by four when they should be up by two. That’s basically it. We have to take care of the ball. We need to score more runs and get the guys in the right spots.” In addition to the double, Springer singled and walked, suggesting that despite the elbow problem, he can still be a major catalyst for a team that needs something to spark it out of its current funk. A year ago at this time, the Blue Jays were in the midst of a season-threatening 4-10 run, but they made amends then and must trust again now. “There is no substitute for experience,” he said. “We went through it a bit last year as a team, to understand what it’s like to play in these types of games until the end of the season and it will get more intense as we go. I think we’re in a much better place just from an experience standpoint. … “I’m not really overly concerned,” he added. “We still have (48) games … but we understand as a team what we have to do. You can’t try to be someone you’re not or something you’re not because then you’ll just be trying to do something you don’t know how to do. So let’s be ourselves and we’ll see what happens.”
