Jays’ Vlad Jr. out at least 3 weeks

It looks like the Toronto Blue Jays won’t have to deal with service time issues with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. The top prospect in baseball reportedly strained his oblique muscle in a game Friday and will be sidelined at least three weeks.

To remain team control of Guerrero for another year, the Jays would have had to keep him in the minors for 15 days to start the season. After he hit .381 with 20 homers and 78 RBIs while rocketing through four levels of minor league ball last year, there would have been many critics of the move.

The same uproar descended on the Cubs when they held back Kris Bryant his rookie season in 2015. The MLB Players Association was reportedly monitoring Guerrero’s situation closely.

The 19-year-old Guerrero, a third baseman, is hitting .211 with no homers and an RBI this spring. He has been working on his conditioning.