Blue Jays' George Springer Placed on 10-Day IL with Elbow Injury

The Toronto Blue Jays announced Saturday that they placed outfielder George Springer on the 10-day injured list retroactive to Aug. 5 because of right elbow inflammation.

The team added that it called up infielder Otto Lopez from Triple-A Buffalo to occupy Springer's spot on the roster.

Springer, 32, has had his elbow issues pop up over the past couple of months. He left in the eighth inning of a June 21 loss to the Chicago White Sox with elbow discomfort.

Blue Jays interim manager John Schneider removed Springer prior to the ninth inning of a July 28 game against the Detroit Tigers. He hurt his elbow during an at-bat the previous inning.

When Springer has been healthy, he's played well with a .251/.331/.464 slash line, 18 homers and 49 RBI in 338 at-bats over 89 games.

Springer was named an All-Star for the fourth time in his career this season and the first time in his two seasons with the Jays.

The loss of Springer will likely lead to more playing time for Raimel Tapia. The 28-year-old is hitting .277/.299/.398 with five homers and 37 RBI in 289 plate appearances. Bradley Zimmer should also see more playing time, likely as a defensive replacement late in games.

After a slow start this season, the Blue Jays have hit their stride. Their 59-47 record is the third-best mark in the American League, behind the New York Yankees and Houston Astros.

Losing Springer takes away a key piece of Toronto's lineup, but this roster has so much offensive talent that it should be able to keep scoring runs in bunches until he returns.