Blue Jays Week in Review: Bullpen Concerns Linger as August Ends

Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 8/25 through Sun, 8/31
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Record Last Week: 3-3 (Overall: 79-58)
Run Differential Last Week: + 1 (Overall: + 56)
Standings: First Place in AL East (3.0 Games Up on NYY), Second in AL (0.5 games behind DET)

Last Week’s Results
Game 132: MIN 4 - TOR 10
Scherzer: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Kirk: 1-2, HR (11), 2 RBI, 2 BB
Giménez: 2-3 HR (6), RBI, BB, 3 R
Lukes: 2-5, 2 RBI, 2 R  

Game 133: MIN 7 - TOR 5
Bassitt: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K
Springer: 4-5, 2 HR (23,24), 2 RBI, 4 R
Lukes: 3-4, R
Bichette: 2-4

Game 134: MIN 8 - TOR 9
Lauer: 4.2 IP, 10 H, 6 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
Schneider: 2-3, 2 HR (9, 10), 2 RBI, BB
Giménez: 2-3, HR (7), 2 RBI
Bichette: 2-5, 2 RBI

Game 135: MIL 7 - TOR 2
Bieber: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
Bichette: 2-4, R
Schneider: 1-3, 2 RBI
Kirk: 1-3, 2B, BB

Game 136: MIL 4 - TOR 1
Gausman: 7.0 IP, 4 H. 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K
Straw: 3-3, 2B
France: 2-3
Bichette: 1-4

Game 137: MIL 4 - TOR 8
Scherzer: 4.0 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Lukes: 2-5, 2 RBI
Straw: 2-3, 2 RBI, BB
Springer: 2-4, RBI, 2 R

Highlights
Myles Straw: Here we are at the end of August, and Myles Straw appears here yet again as a highlight of the week. Everything he’s done, though, has proven that he’s worthy of that recognition. He spent the early part of the week on the bench, but after Daulton Varsho was hit in the hand and sat out of the lineup for the last few days, Straw continued to be productive. He went 5-for-8 on the week, including a double and a walk, and he thrived on defence as well; he threw out William Contreras trying to advance to third on a fly ball. Oh, and he robbed a home run too. He’s done everything the Blue Jays have asked for and more.

George Springer: I haven’t been keeping track of how many times a player has appeared as a highlight on this list, but George Springer has to be a leading candidate for the highest number. He did it again this week, highlighted by a two-home run day on Tuesday. The week as a whole saw him go 10-for-24 with those two home runs and a double. He also spent a good chunk of time in left field this week, as the Blue Jays had to rotate some other players in the DH spot. He added in a team-high two stolen bases as well. George Springer just keeps doing it.

Tommy Nance: We’ll touch on the rest of the bullpen in a moment, but credit to the one player in the 'pen that has actually exceeded expectations, and that's Tommy Nance. He’s been used most of the season as a low-leverage, first-man-out-of-the-bullpen type guy, but the numbers have been there. On the season, it's a 0.86 ERA with more strikeouts (24) than innings pitched (21). This week, in 4.1 IP, he allowed four baserunners, striking out five more, and, most importantly, not allowing a run to score. He really shone when he came into the game on Sunday to relieve Brendon Little. With the bases loaded and just one out, he proceeded to get a strikeout and a groundball to escape the inning and keep the Blue Jays' one-run lead at the time. Nance has proven that he deserves some more high-leverage work going forward.

Kevin Gausman: This is a shoutout to the best starting pitching performance of the week, and that belonged to Kevin Gausman. He went seven innings, allowing just four hits (only one of them for extra bases), walking none, and striking out eight. He went toe to toe with Quinn Priester, who was also dominant, so Gausman had to be on his game. It continued an excellent stretch of games for Gausman, who has a 3.11 ERA since the start of July. His next start will come against the Yankees, a team that is right on the Blue Jays' heels in the AL East race. 

Lowlights
Jeff Hoffman: This was not a good week for Jeff Hoffman, After he blew a save last week in Miami, he got into action on Tuesday to protect a one-run lead. Two pitches in, he gave up a game-tying home run, and then he gave up another homer a few batters later. After getting the save on Wednesday, he came into a tie game on Saturday, and the home run ball bit him again, with two more long balls allowed and another earned run on a double. It's been a season of ups and downs for Hoffman, and he’s now allowed 14 home runs, tied for the most in baseball by a reliever this season. His season ERA now stands at 5.11, and he has been a net negative WAR player on the season (-0.3 fWAR). He did get in the finale on Sunday, and although he allowed some baserunners, he did not allow a run. We’ll see how John Schneider and the rest of the Blue Jays staff manage Hoffman going forward.

Louis Varland: This spot could have gone to many other relievers in the Jays' bullpen, as Brendon Little, Yariel Rodríguez, and Hoffman have all had pockets of poor performance lately, but we’ll use this time to highlight Louis Varland. He had a stretch dating back to August 15 during which he allowed an earned run in six straight appearances. In his first two appearances this week, that trend continued. He gave up a walk and a hit in his three batters faced against the Twins, and two more hits and another run against the Brewers in the opener on Friday. Since joining the Blue Jays, he’s pitched to a 6.97 ERA. That was not the pitcher the Blue Jays had hoped to get when they acquired him at the deadline. The saving grace may be his outing on Sunday, in which he faced five batters, set them all down, and struck out three of them. Hopefully, this was the outing that gets him back on track.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.: Don’t look now, but this was not a good week for Vlad at the plate; he went just 2-for-23 (both singles), with just two walks. Coming into Sunday, out of all qualified hitters, only Alex Bregman had a lower wOBA than Guerrero's .072 this week. It's worth noting that Vlad had been dealing with a hamstring issue that kept him out of the lineup for a few days over the previous weekend. He may still be dealing with that injury, but the Blue Jays are going to need him to step up at the plate if they’re going to remain in the lead for the AL East crown throughout September.

Random Notes of the Week:

• Blue Jays fans ate 96,633 dollar dogs on Tuesday, a new record.
   
• Chris Bassitt recorded his 500th career strikeout as a Blue Jay this week.
   
• Ernie Clement received the Blue Jays' 2025 Heart and Hustle Award this week.
   
• The Blue Jays have signed 28-year-old DH/OF Eloy Jimenez to a minor league contract. He was most recently in the Rays' minor league system.
   
• The Blue Jays have signed LHP Ryan Borucki to a minor league deal after he was released by the Pirates last week. He pitched to a 4.47 ERA over his five seasons in Toronto from 2018-22.
   
• Former Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston was named to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum’s Hall of Game this week.
   
• Myles Straw robbed Jackson Chourio of a home run this week, the first time he’s done that in his big league career (via Julia Kreuz).
   
• Brendon Little didn’t throw a single knuckle curve in his appearance on Sunday.
   
• Shane Bieber struck out the side in the first inning of his home debut on Friday night.
   
• Bo Bichette’s 14-game hit streak came to an end on Sunday.

News, Notes and Not Playing

• C Alejandro Kirk had an X-ray on his left hand after taking a foul ball. Results were negative (Via Arden Zwelling).
• INF Ernie Clement had a CT scan on his left hand that revealed a small hairline fracture; he also received 10 stitches in his shin. He’s day-to-day (Via Zwelling).
• SP Max Scherzer was taken out of his start with upper back tightness (Via Mitch Bannon). Scherzer said post-game that he felt it before the start, and that he doesn't think it's going to be a long-term thing (Via Hazel Mae).
• OF Daulton Varsho was hit in the hand with a pitch this week. X-rays came back negative, and he is considered day-to-day for now (Via Keegan Matheson).
• LHP Justin Bruihl was recalled earlier this week, and RHP Paxton Schultz was sent down to Triple A.
• The Blue Jays have claimed INF Isiah Kiner-Falefa off waivers from the Pirates. Kiner-Falefa spent the first half of 2024 with the Blue Jays. He’s hitting .264/.300/.332 with 1 HR and 15 SB on the season. Yimi García was sent to the 60-day IL in response.

15-day IL: Yimi García

• Yimi García is going to have elbow surgery and is done for the year. The expectation is that he’ll be ready to go for Spring Training next year (Via Shi Davidi).

60-day IL: Anthony Santander, Alek Manoah, Bowden Francis, Nick Sandlin

• OF/DH Anthony Santander did a full slate of baseball activities, including running on the field. If all things go well, he’ll go on a rehab assignment after the road trip to Cincinnati (Via Davidi).
• RHP Alek Manoah had his rehab window extended last week and is continuing to pitch for the Buffalo Bisons (Via Ben Nicholson-Smith).
• Sandlin had another injection in his elbow last Monday and was expected to resume throwing over the weekend (Via Mae). He was transferred to the 60-day IL today.

Trending Storylines
The main storyline for the Blue Jays recently has been the performance of their bullpen. Since the All-Star break, the bullpen's ERA is at 5.72, the worst in the American League. Their 4.74 BB/9 rate is also the worst in the American League, and their -0.4 fWAR is, you guessed it, the worst in the American League.

There have been some concerning signs: Brendon Little's knuckle curve hasn’t been getting as many swings and misses lately, while Jeff Hoffman and Yariel Rodríguez have seen fluctuations in their velocity as of late. The bullpen turning things around, and rather quickly, will be priority number one for this team going forward.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Blue Jays have been doing okay; they were third in wRC+ (130) this past week, despite having games where they scored two runs or fewer. It hasn’t been all smooth; as previously mentioned, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had some trouble this week, and Addison Barger hasn’t hit a home run since the Blue Jays were at Dodger Stadium earlier in the month. But Nathan Lukes had a stretch of multi-hit games, and so did Bo Bichette. It's been a mix of ups and downs, but everything seems status quo for the bats.

Looking Ahead
Coming off a 3-3 homestand, the Blue Jays will head on the road for six more games. The first stop will see the Blue Jays visit Cincinnati, home of the Reds, who are currently out of the playoff picture but only four games back of the Mets for the third and final NL Wild Card spot. They’ve been struggling as of late, though, with just a 2-8 record over their last 10 games. Nonetheless, the Blue Jays will have their work cut out for them, as they’re set to face Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, and Zack Littell over the series. Chris Bassit, José Berríos, and Shane Bieber will take the hill for the Blue Jays.

After an off day on Thursday, the Blue Jays will head to the Bronx to face the Yankees for the final time this regular season, in what could be one of the biggest series of the season so far. The good news is the Jays have played well against the Yankees so far this year, as they are 7-3, including a four-game sweep at Rogers Centre.

The Yankees have been playing much better as of late, as they were on a seven-game winning streak before the White Sox took the finale on Sunday. They will have three games in Houston before the Blue Jays visit on the weekend. As of now, Kevin Gausman, Max Scherzer, and Chris Bassitt line up for the Blue Jays, and it'll be Cam Schlittler, Luis Gil, and Max Fried for the Yankees.