Daulton Varsho Rehabs with the Herd

By: Brian Frank

Blue Jays outfielder Daulton Varsho joined the Bisons this week for a rehabilitation assignment following right rotator cuff surgery last fall. The 28-year-old Gold Glove outfielder played two games at Low-A Dunedin before joining the Herd.

“It feels like I’m a baseball player again,” Varsho said. “It’s one of those things where you go through the rehab process – it’s the first time for me really going through it. It’s just really tough because you kind of come here and you’re like alright, now I’m a baseball player again. You’re doing normal things, you’re taking BP, you’re with the team, so it’s honestly really fun for me to just be myself again.”

Varsho during BP at Sahlen Field. Photo Credit: Brian Frank, The Herd Chronicles

Varsho was able to get at-bats during spring training as a designated hitter, but had to slowly ramp up his throwing before he could return to the Blue Jays’ outfield. Varsho was swinging a hot bat during Toronto’s Grapefruit League campaign, but the team opted to have him stay in Florida when the season started to progress in his throwing.

“It was tough for me for a couple days,” he said of remaining in Dunedin when the team headed north. “Just kind of really reflected on understanding what I need to do and kind of continue to improve my process. Obviously being down there and just getting my arm ready was probably the best thing for me. It was frustrating, but you know, it’s just kind of the decision that they made and now I’m able to be back probably a little bit quicker than I would have been if I was there.”

Varsho’s father Gary Varsho, who played 571 major-league games for the Cubs, Pirates, and Reds, also played for the Bisons. The elder Varsho played in 18 games for the Herd in 1994, when they were the Triple-A affiliate for the Pittsburgh Pirates. That makes the duo the first father-son combination to play for the Bisons in the team’s modern era (dating back to 1985).

“I didn’t even really realize he played here to be honest,” Varsho said.

“I’ll circle back to him either later tonight or tomorrow and talk to him about it and see what he thought about this place compared to when he played here to when I played here.”

Taking a lead off first. Photo Credit: Brian Frank, The Herd Chronicles

Varsho was the Bisons designated hitter on Tuesday night, before playing center field in the first game of the doubleheader against Rochester on Wednesday.

“The main thing is just getting him back into game-like situations and getting him at-bats and getting him some time in the field,” Bisons manager Casey Candaele said. “You want him to get on the bases, you want him to run the bases, you want him to slide, you want him to do all those things that he’s going to have to do in an intense environment when he gets back to the major leagues.”

Varsho joined a list other prominent players who have rehabbed in Buffalo the last few seasons, including Bo Bichette, Danny Jansen, Joey Votto, Jordan Romano, Alek Manoah, Yimi García, and Eric Swanson. Candaele believes his young players can learn a lot by being around so many successful major leaguers.

“Just the ability to talk to them and to get a feel for what the major leagues is like and how much work it is,” Candaele said. “And to understand that even though they’re the best in the game, they show these players that you still have to work hard to maintain that advantage because somebody is always coming to try to take it away from you. The best players in the game that stay in the game for a long time, they’re guys that work hard every day and they try to get better every year. They’re not satisfied.”