How Have the Newest Blue Jays Introduced Themselves?

For better or for worse, the human brain is wired to make instantaneous evaluations of strangers. Within seconds, we’ve determined whether we should view them positively or negatively. It was a built-in safety feature for primal humans that has survived all of the rigorous years of evolution. Once we’ve formed that first impression, we filter all of our future impressions of this person through that lens, and we subconsciously seek confirmation to prove that our first perception was correct.

Whether we like to admit it or not, we do the exact same thing with baseball players that suit up for our favourite teams. Jays fans will immediately think of J.P. Arencibia hitting a homer on the first pitch he saw in the big leagues and finishing his debut 4-for-5 with two homers and a double.

Arencibia rode that debut through the next three years as the Jays’ primary catcher despite never really living up to his hot start for any extended stretches.

A busy trade deadline and some roster churn have given Jays fans plenty more first impressions, and it’s hard not to be excited about a few of them.

As smart baseball fans rather than hunter-gatherer cavemen, we do our best to turn off that primal instinct, watch the process and wait for a larger sample, rather than making determinations based on the immediate results from a guy’s first couple of times putting on the uniform. But that doesn’t mean we can’t overreact slightly to what we’ve seen from the newest Blue Jays in their first couple of opportunities with their new team.

For example, I can’t blame you if you’re on the Brett Bateman bandwagon. 

The centre fielder was acquired from the Cubs in exchange for Kevin Gausman and made just two appearances in Buffalo for the Jays before Luis Urías went on the IL, opening up a spot on the major league roster.

Bateman didn't have to wait for his welcome-to-the-big-leagues moment because his first start came against Zack Wheeler, a veteran of 12 major league seasons and one of the best pitchers of the last decade. Wheeler’s first pitch to the nine-hitter was a heater up in the zone, which Bateman mashed off of the left field fence for a double. The first hit of his career on the first pitch he saw.

Bateman worked walks in both of his next two plate appearances against Wheeler and finished his debut 1-for-2 with a run scored.

You can understand fans buying into the hype of a successful debut, but it really opened my eyes to just how impressed the manager was when the next day’s lineup came out and Bateman was batting in the two-hole against Aaron Nola. 

John Schneider obviously likes his fit at the top of the lineup, because when he’s been in there, the only time he’s found himself not in the two-hole since his first start against Wheeler was when he hit leadoff against Jesús Luzardo.

The best part is that Bateman’s delivered. He’s got hits in five of his first six games, and at least one run scored or batted in in four of those games as well.

Obviously it’s been tough to watch this Jays team that’s scored the second fewest runs in baseball, and Bateman putting up quality at-bats in key spots amidst a stretch of winning baseball has made him a quick fan favourite.

But seriously. It can’t be understated how perfectly timed his hits have been.

The defense has been quiet in a good way. He also adds a good pair of legs to a Jays team with the third lowest average sprint speed in baseball, and so far the hits have come at the right times.

Long-term, there are still questions as to whether or not there will be enough power to justify an everyday role, and in the tiny sample, none of his batted ball numbers look very exciting. But first impressions matter, and it’s hard to make a better one than Brett Bateman has so far.

A bit of a smaller-profile first impression has come in the form of Josh Smith.

Picked up from the Texas Rangers in exchange for Adam Macko in a slightly head-scratching deal at the deadline, Smith had a 65 wRC+ across 154 PAs for the Rangers.

The Jays liked the contact-heavy profile as well as the defensive versatility and saw Smith as a buy-low candidate. The early returns are relatively positive.

The overall numbers are carried by a 3-for-4 with a homer day against the Phillies, but he’s also stolen a base and gotten a sacrifice bunt down.

It’s not sexy. He’s nobody’s new favourite player, but he’s represented a fundamental soundness that the Jays have severely lacked at times this season.

Would we look on him this fondly and talk ourselves into Josh Smith if the Jays had lost seven and won four since the deadline instead of the other way around? No way! But the Jays are winning, and Smith is contributing, so his first impression is a good one.

The guy Jays fans were most excited to get our eyes on following the trade deadline has now completed two appearances, and the results on his first impression are in: José Soriano is going to be a very productive Blue Jay.

I’m almost as confident as when he was first acquired.

He’s done a great job of showing us what could be on the table going forward without actually doing it.

Racking up 18 whiffs in his Blue Jays debut last week against the Phillies was certainly intriguing, but it only translated to three strikeouts across 4.2 innings.

His second Jays start came against the Red Sox, and while he was able to work a quality start, only allowing one run over six innings, he lacked a certain dominance. He worked around four hits and a pair of walks.

It’s really interesting that in his most recent start, Soriano threw 45.6% sinkers and 14.4% knuckle curves – his highest and lowest marks of the year, respectively – but again, the goal here isn’t to make any sweeping declarations about Soriano based on his first couple starts with his new team. There is obviously a plan with him that extends well beyond the final six weeks of 2026.

If you gave Jays fans a truth serum and asked what they thought about Soriano’s first couple starts, I bet a lot of them would be forced to admit they’re a bit disappointed.

Not because he’s been bad.

But because when you acquire a pitcher with the stuff that Soriano has, and acquire him for a prospect with as much helium as Arjun Nimmala, you start to dream of dominance.

The good thing for Soriano: We’re not cavemen, and he’s got plenty of runway to shape the narrative of his Blue Jays tenure.