The American League wild card race is going to come down to the wire, as six teams are within three games of a postseason spot entering play on Thursday.
The Toronto Blue Jays are one game out of a wild card spot, trailing the Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers. The Blue Jays are taking on the Tampa Bay Rays in a rubber match on Thursday, and lost a key player to injury: Andrés Giménez.
Giménez grabbed at his right hamstring while running out a ground ball in the top of the fourth inning. He did not come out to play defense in the bottom of the inning. The team announced he was pulled from the game with hamstring tightness.
Andres Gimenez was removed from Thursday's Blue Jays game with right hamstring tightness, per club
— Arden Zwelling (@ArdenZwelling) August 20, 2026
He suffered it trying to run out this groundball in the top of the fourth pic.twitter.com/2L79n3rQlK
These types of injuries can keep players out for weeks if they are serious. The Blue Jays are right there in the postseason race, but losing Giménez could be a big blow for the final stretch. The team has won its last six series, and four of those series wins came against teams in postseason position. Beating the Rays would be huge, and a sign that they are capable of making a run.
Overall, Giménez has not had a great offensive season, but he came into Thursday's game hitting .270 this month. He has four extra-base hits and five stolen bases in August. Defensively, he has a plus-17 outs above average.
He is a three-time Gold Glove and a one-time Platinum Glove Award winner. He has never been a great bat, outside of one outlier year in 2022, when he had an .837 OPS.