Drafted by the Houston Astros in the seventh round of the 2021 June Amateur Draft, the 26-year-old Blue Jays outfielder was brought to Toronto alongside Will Wagner and Jake Bloss during last year’s trade deadline. After spending the first half of the season down in Triple-A, this rising star forced his way into the lineup consistently. He had a vision to establish himself as a solid contributor in the club’s postseason run. And unfortunately, he was removed during Tuesday’s 10-4 win over the Colorado Rockies during the sixth inning.

A 98.2 mph fastball from Rockies’ reliever Angel Chivilli drilled Joey Loperfido on the outside of his right knee. He immediately collapsed on the ground, and the cameras caught his face etched in pain. It prompted Blue Jays manager John Schneider and head athletic trainer Jose Ministral to rush towards the young phenom.

Loperfido remained on the ground for a while before he was helped by the Blue Jays staff to the dugout. To fill in his shoes, the Blue Jays brought in Myles Straw, who ran the bases and took over left field.

Postgame, Schneider offered a much-awaited update on the Philadelphia native. “He did do X-rays for a fracture, which were negative.” He said to Keegan Matheson of MLB.com. “We’re assuming he’s going to be pretty sore tomorrow, but we’ll see how he is.” After X-rays, it came to light that it’s a right knee contusion. That’s actually a bit relieving, but at the same time, he will be missing Wednesday’s finale game against the Rockies and also make the most use of the next off-day falling on Thursday.

Entering Tuesday, Loperfido had recorded a .970 OPS in 23 games. Hopefully, Loperfido will only require a couple of days to return to the lineup. However, if he needs more than that, it will mean that George Springer, who is expected to be back from the concussion injury, will return as early as Thursday to take over Loperfido’s spot. Until then, on Wednesday, Myles Straw will probably again get a chance to play.

Coming to Loperfido again, it hasn’t been easy for him to find his footing in the Blue Jays lineup.

Loperfido’s quiet climb in the Blue Jays roster

It goes all the way back to the spring training. Joey Loperfido expected to win a spot on the opening day roster. However, it didn’t happen. He kept slipping down the depth chart over the months and was overlooked.

Other phenoms such as Davis Schneider, Nathan Lukes, Alan Roden, and Jonatan Clase leapfrogged him when it came to outfield positions. More than him, Mykes Straw—acquired in an off-season trade and a defense-first player was given far more consideration than him.

All that happening together was enough for Loperfido to lose his motivation. However, he focused on refining his game. He made sure to refine his swing mechanics and improve at the plate.

It didn’t go unnoticed by manager John Schneider. “He could’ve easily pouted when other guys were getting called up. But he didn’t. He focused on what we talked about—making more contact and being more consistent at the plate. Credit to him for staying locked in.” Schneider could see the results clearly.

Ever since last month, when Loperfido rejoined, he has been making better contracts and is looking entirely at postseason material. That is the primary reason why the Blue Jays can’t risk losing him to a knee injury. He was batting .389 across 24 games before Tuesday night.

In contrast to his excellent performance this year, in 2024, he was hitting only .197 in the majors with a low .579 OPS. Now he was back in the lineup on a regular basis and has also helped the Blue Jays fill the void left by slugger Anthony Santander due to an injury setback.

There is definitely more potential to unlock in Loperfido, but for now, the Blue Jays have been happy with his performance and hope for his speedy return.