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After missing nearly a month with a back injury, the Toronto Blue Jays have activated Adam Lind from the disabled list and placed him back on the 25-man roster. He is expected to start tonight against Philadelphia.
After a series of down years from 2010 to 2012, where he hit just .246/.296/.428, Lind regained the stroke that made him a Silver Slugger and earned him some down-ballot MVP consideration in 2009. Last season, he hit .288/.357/.497 with a 131 OPS+. At the beginning of the 2014 campaign, he followed that up by starting the season on fire, hitting .324/.465/.500 across 43 plate appearances.
The Blue Jays will hope that this injury does not lead to an offensive downturn, which is where they derive all of their value from Lind as a player. Despite his offensive performance in 2013, Lind was essentially average in value (1.8 WAR), as he was 15.5 runs below average in Defensive Runs Saved.
With Lind back in the fold, and combined with the twin powers of Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, the Blue Jays have one of the strongest lineup cores in the American League. The key now will be keeping them all healthy for a full season, as all three have dealt with various injuries over the past few seasons.
In a corresponding move to make space for Lind on the 25-man, the Blue Jays optioned Chad Jenkins back to Buffalo, the organization's Triple-A affiliate.