Blue Jays All-Star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. exits game due to hamstring injury

Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. left Tuesday’s game against the Washington Nationals with right hamstring tightness.

Guerrero appeared to sustain the injury while running out a ground ball in the top of the third inning.

He winced after rounding first and was able to reach second due to a throwing error. But he was replaced on defense by Kazuma Okamoto in the top of the fourth inning.

The Blue Jays announced shortly after his exit that Guerrero was dealing with right hamstring tightness. The severity of the injury and his prognosis were initially unclear.

More bad news for Blue Jays

The injury is another blow to what’s so far been a disappointing season in Toronto. Coming off a World Series appearance in which they pushed the Los Angeles Dodgers to extra innings in Game 7, the Blue Jays looked poised to compete for the AL East and another postseason run.

Instead, they entered Monday in last place in the AL East at 49-58, 13.5 games out of first place and five games out of wild-card position. The poor start has prompted calls for the Blue Jays to sell at the upcoming MLB trade deadline.

A six-time All-Star, Guerrero is a franchise cornerstone who’s under contract through 2039. He’s not a candidate for the trade block. But if his injury sidelines him further, it will further extinguish any hope of Toronto rallying compete in the AL wild card race.