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He was already at 75 pitches in the third inning.

If Nat's had the Jays pitching, or Jays had the Nat's lineup - World Series contenders haha.

Going 3-7 since the All-Star break when this team needed to go 7-3 or 6-4 instead.

Okamoto pretty much has replaced Barger this season. They're pretty much similar offensively. Okamoto has been a great addition, but he's not and was never a replacement for a bat like Bichette, who when in top form was a 130 wRC+ and pretty much a 4 WAR player here.

Re-sign Gausman to a two-year/$40M deal. I think he would accept and I would take that. 3.68 FIP/.3.87xFIP so no different than he was last season to be honest. Obviously the stretch since June 2nd he's been on is a bit worrisome, but today was encouraging at least and even his start on July 12th vs. the Padres. You're still likely to get a 3-4 WAR season out of him which is still very good, especially at that term and AAV. Go out this offseason and try to bring in another 1A or #2 behind Cease, which slides Gausman down to your #3 and then Yesavage and Ponce occupy the last two spots. I'm also sure Miles figures himself in there somewhere with injuries at some point, so he's nice depth to have as a swing-man/bulk innings guy.

Bullpen is well rested at least haha. Thank you Dylan!

The rest of the team simply never showed up consistently, or they were injured. Nothing ever seemed to click for this team in terms of timing. Vladdy, Varsho, Springer and Kirk have all underperformed offensively. The lineup has badly missed another impact bat like Bo. Barger has been out for the entire season. Losing Kirk early also hurt until Valenzuela stepped up. Since June 2, Gausman has pitched more like a No. 4 or No. 5 starter: 0-6 with a 6.56 ERA, 4.84 FIP and 4.24 BB/9. The Jays needed him to pitch like a No. 2 or legitimate 1A behind Cease. Bieber and Scherzer have both been major disappointments. Yesavage has experienced the usual ups and downs and hasn’t consistently pitched at the elite level we saw during the postseason. Those expectations were probably unfair, but the Jays needed him to perform like a front-of-the-rotation starter, especially with Gausman and Bieber struggling. A large portion of the rotation was injured at the same time earlier in the season, including Ponce, Yesavage, Bieber, Scherzer and Berrios. That placed a massive amount of pressure on the bullpen. Hoffman had several huge blowups earlier in the season that cost them games. The team’s defence has regressed from last year. It has basically been a combination of injuries, offensive regression, disappointing performances from key guys, inconsistent starting pitching and worse defence. Almost everything that needed to go right for them has gone wrong instead.

Watch when the Jays are in contention during 2027, Cease either lands on the IL or isn't as sharp. Always just our luck.

How about Luis Robert Jr. for CF? Mets likely are shopping him at the deadline, and he's still under control in 2027 with a club option attached to him. Defensively, he would be alright (not elite Varsho level), though the offensive potential he possesses when fully healthy is intriguing.

Should have picked me. My fastball could touch 85mph and I have a very deceptive delivery.

Not to the same extent. Every player is different, and some can remain consistently productive offensively even after their defence begins to slip. Kirk’s value is more heavily tied to his defence because his bat hasn’t shown that it can reliably produce at his 2022 or 2025 level every season. When he combines elite defence with strong offensive production, he’s a 4–5 WAR catcher. If the offence regresses and the defence also starts declining, his value drops considerably. I’m not writing Kirk off at all. I still want him as the starting catcher moving forward, and injuries have affected him earlier this season. I’m simply pointing out that his margin for decline is smaller than it would be for a player whose value is primarily driven by a consistently impactful bat.

Once Kirk starts slipping defensively, his value takes a major hit. Offensively, he hasn’t shown that he can consistently replicate his 2022 or 2025 production from year to year. If he’s no longer an elite defensive catcher, he’s not automatically a 2–3 WAR player. When the defense and offense are both there, he can be a 4–5 WAR catcher. But if the bat regresses and the defense begins to decline, his overall value drops pretty quickly.

Don’t talk about the Jays teams from the early 2000s or 2010s - there’s one poster on here who apparently doesn’t like that. 😂 The front office definitely has to shake things up. They can’t bring back the exact same group and simply expect another 2025 result. This lineup needs more thump overall and another legitimate impact bat. Losing both Gausman and Bieber would also leave a major hole in the rotation. On top of that, anyone else they trade whether it’s Varland or another bullpen arm would still have to be replaced. The problem is that there’s only so much you can accomplish through free agency. We can’t expect the Jays to sign every free agent needed to fill all of those holes. It would be extremely expensive, and they’d still be competing with several other teams for those players. We’ve seen over the past two or three offseasons that the Jays can have all the money in the world to spend, but players such as Ohtani, Soto and Tucker can still choose to go elsewhere. I’m open to trading Varland if the return is an elite prospect. Any team that misses out on Mason Miller would almost certainly have interest in him. If you can turn Varland into the type of prospect package Miller brought back at last year’s deadline, you have to seriously consider it.

Trade for guys with control who could help a bit this season, but also next season as well. Carmen Mlodzinski is rotting away in the Pirates bullpen. I'm sure the Jays could acquire him and move him into the rotation. Braxton Garrett has been rotting away in AAA. Would slot nicely in the Jays rotation somewhere. Marlins could definitely use a Gausman or Bieber for their rotation. Tigers likely open to trading some pieces - maybe Parker Meadows or Kerry Carpenter. Rotation: Cease Yesavage Garrett Mlodzinski Miles Not bad and that's a solid middle road IMO. Still could get hot in August and get back into the Postseason picture. If not, you have some controllable arms for next season and with some upside.

I have no issue with Kwan in CF, but yeah he would just be a stopgap for 2027. He's capable of putting together a 3-4 WAR season, but offensively he has no power whatsoever. So would have to address power elsewhere in the lineup like in LF or at DH or possibly either at 2B or SS if they decide to move away from Gimenez. Atkins does like to address holes on the roster typically early in the offseason. You hope he just doesn't pick up Straw's option for the sake of it.

Would they trade Peters now or in the offseason? I think the Jays would likely have to add onto Valenzuela. But who knows.

Steven Kwan has been heating up recently. Still under control for 2027.

They also have Quero still, who is very young and highly talented, despite his struggles offensively this season. I could see the Blue Jays trading for a young and controllable CFer whether it's at the deadline or for sure in the offseason. Jackson Merrill - would the Padres consider trading him? Colton Cowser, Jacob Young, Evan Carter, Dylan Crews are some young and controllable guys, who have been struggling recently and perhaps a change of scenery could help. Lawrence Butler has been awful this season, so the A's could be shopping him especially after that contract extension he signed.

Yeah not complaining one bit. Very solid outing and hopefully that put some more teams on notice.

Would be nice to see Bieber get a couple more K's on that pitching line.

Would be huge if Bieber can pitch 6 to 7 innings and allowing a max 1-2 earned runs with some K's. We need Gausman and Bieber to showcase themselves to other teams.

Seymour supposed to be used in bulk relief. Casey Lasagna opening the game today.

Definitely need another top starter who can slot in right behind Cease. Ideally, they need a 4–5 WAR type of arm - someone who gives the rotation another legitimate front-end presence instead of just another mid-rotation piece. SP depth is also huge, as we’ve seen. They probably need to add a few rubber-arm types who can eat innings, and maybe even roll the dice on some injured vets who might miss the first month or two, with the hope they rehab successfully and return mid-season. If Varsho departs, CF becomes a major hole. I’d be fine bringing him back on a one-year deal if the AAV is reasonable, but if that happens, they still need to add an impact bat somewhere either in LF, DH, or both. The bullpen should be easier to address, assuming they don’t trade Varland, Hoffman, or Rogers. If those three are still here, the late-inning foundation is already pretty solid. They could probably use another LHP to pair with Fluharty, but compared to the rotation and lineup, the bullpen feels more manageable.