Blue Jays' Josh Palacios Eyes Big League Return and Matchup With Brother

Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Josh Palacios is healthy and looking to return to the majors in 2022

Mary Holt-USA TODAY Sports

DUNEDIN, Fla. — On Sunday, Josh Palacios returned to where it began.

Dunedin’s TD Ballpark serves as the Toronto Blue Jays’ spring training home, but it’s also the site of Palacios’ MLB debut.

“It’s beautiful to be back,” he said walking off the infield grass.

Earning a spot on the 2021 Blue Jays after a pre-season injury to George Springer and a COVID IL stint for Teoscar Hernández, Palacios made the most of a 10-game stint with Toronto. He notched four hits and a walk in his second ever game and finished with a .353 on-base percentage.

Then, just days after he was sent back to Triple A, Palacios’ season was derailed by a pair of hand injuries. Entering 2022 recovered and healthy, the young outfielder is looking to get back to the big leagues with games to win and a brother to meet in the show.

Palacios missed three months with a broken hand after he was hit by a pitch six games into his Triple A demotion. After the diagnosis, rehab, and recovery Palacios was back with the Bisons. And then, he wasn’t. Less than a month after his first hand injury, Palacios’ season was ended by another, breaking the hamate bone in the same right hand on a swing.

The injury knocked Palacios out of the mix for the playoff pushing Blue Jays, but he looked at it as his latest opportunity, especially after seeing the Hall of Fame company he’d be joining.

“I saw the list of who's on that hamate bone surgery list,” Palacios said. “Tony Gwynn, Ken Griffey Jr., Mark McGwire. So I felt a lot more comfortable about that surgery.”

The 26-year-old Brooklyn native rehabbed in New York and Dunedin during the offseason before the lockout pushed him out of Toronto’s player development complex and a few hours south. He got back to 100% around January, hitting regularly and working out with Bo Bichette, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Santiago Espinal, and at points his younger brother, a prospect in the Guardians organization.

A 2018 third-round pick, Richie Palacios posted a .434 OBP and .850 OPS for Cleveland’s Triple A affiliate last season. A year and a half apart in age, the Palacios brothers have always been “playfully competitive,” Josh said. Sons of a former minor leaguer and nephews of a big leaguer, the two have always compared who's had better days and months as they climb the minors, and now they eye a faceoff.

“I know we play [Cleveland] twice,” Josh said with a grin. “It’s exciting to possibly play my brother this year.”

If they square up, Josh is going to “burn” his little bro, he said, aiming for him with a rocket line drive. But to have that opportunity for bragging rights, Palacios has to first earn his way back to the big leagues.

The Blue Jays have a seemingly crowded outfield with Springer, Gurriel, Hernández, and Randal Grichuk all vying for playing time. But, past the major-league options, Toronto’s outfield depth thins out. Palacios is the only other full-time outfielder on the 40-man roster and the only lefty bat. He's one of just two regular OF in Toronto's Top 30 prospects at Baseball America and should remain the next man up in 2022.

Palacios will likely start the season in Buffalo and to earn a promotion and his matchup against his brother manager Charlie Montoyo’s challenge to him is clear.

“Put up some numbers and push the envelope,” Montoyo said.