jaysblue

That would have been a free slice of Pizza Pizza back in the day!

Looks like Varland is the only reliever unavailable tonight. Rogers or Fluharty (depending on matchups) likely to close if a save situation arises.

Yeah, Vladdy, Springer, and Kirk (to a lesser extent) are the main reasons this lineup is struggling right now. If those guys were performing the way they’re supposed to, you could live with Gimenez being in the lineup every day. But when the main bats are struggling this badly, it becomes a lot harder to justify having Gimenez occupy a spot when you’re trying to squeeze out every bit of offense you can. That said, the Jays don’t really have much of a choice unless they upgrade over him via trade. And as much as I’ve missed Barger, the Jays have actually been fine offensively with corner outfielders like Pinango and Sanchez, along with Lukes as you mentioned. They’ve been able to survive without Barger more than expected.

Yeah, it happened with Cleveland last year after the deadline. They moved expiring contracts. Detroit did something similar the year before, too. Maybe this team/roster just needs a bit of a shakeup. Some new faces in the clubhouse might click, spark the group a little, and maybe they go on a run and compete for WC3. It’s obviously not working with the current group anyway. You’re not really going to miss Springer at this point. Varsho’s defensive skills have declined, and in the short term, he shouldn’t be that difficult to replace. Gausman and Bieber are a different story, because replacing those innings while still trying to contend would be tough. But maybe you get some young arms back who can step into the rotation right away and help fill the void - someone like Carmen Mlodzinski, Hunter Dobbins, Richard Fitts, etc.

Yeah, true. Gimenez is basically giving you what you’d expect offensively. The problem is that when so many of the key bats in the lineup are struggling, his lack of offense gets magnified and becomes much more of a sore spot. You can run Gimenez out there every day if you have a competent, well-balanced lineup around him. Right now, the Jays unfortunately don’t have that lol. But it’s not like they have a clear internal option who’s better, either. Unless they make a trade, he’s still the best option they have.

It's mostly on the players to this point. You can criticize JS for his management to an extent such as with the bullpen and lineup decisions. Otherwise, it's mostly on the players especially the man who is getting paid $500M. I think most of us agree that Atkins did a great job this offseason adding to the roster, especially with Cease and Okamoto thus far. Injuries did play a role to an extent earlier on. Getting absolutely nothing from Springer and Vladdy, who both were catalysts to the lineup last season is what's hurting right now. Even if the Jays added a bat like Tucker or brought back Bo, not sure it would make a big difference anyways. It's been a really frustrating season to date especially after making it to World Series last October, though this is mainly on the players.

Usually by the end of June, you could tell what a team is. Right now this is just a .500 team at best. They need guys to step up like Vladdy, Springer and others ASAP and go on a roll. Can't use the health excuse anymore with pretty much everyone back (other than Barger). I'm trying so hard to be optimistic and there is still time to turn things around, though can't go into this spiral like they have especially during a long homestand.

Beeter is the type of arm who you hope could figure things out and if he does, especially his BB/9, I think he could be a valuable late inning reliever. Numbers wise this season, he hasn't been that sharp: 6.39 BB/9, 4.33xFIP and O fWAR accumulated. He would be more of a long term project than an impact arm that would help this season.

If the Jays are 5 GB of WC3, I don't think they go on a huge shopping spree to go "all-in" for 2026. More likely target players with some control beyond 2026, who could help next season and who might be able to help down the stretch if they still felt like they could contend. Even if the Jays sold off on some pieces on expiring contracts, given how weak the AL is, they could still potentially sneak into the last WC spot if they started playing better in August/September - kind of like how Cleveland were sellers at the deadline last season and they ended up winning their division.

Yeah, it’s been pretty awful, and this type of production isn’t sustainable if this team expects to get back to above .500 and seriously contend for a Wild Card spot. The Springer regression has hit hard - and a lot of us warned during the offseason that this was a real possibility. Vladdy has been awful. They’re missing a bat that can provide something close to Bo’s 2025 production. Kirk missing significant time didn’t help either, and now we don’t really know whether we’re getting the 2023/2024 version of Kirk or the 2022/2025 version moving forward. Gimenez and his 82 wRC+ being in the lineup every day is an eyesore offensively, even with the solid defense. If the Jays’ other bats were producing the way they were expected to, you could live with Gimenez occupying a spot in the lineup. But when the offense is already struggling, it becomes a lot harder to stomach. On the positive side, guys like Clement and Lukes have really held their own. I was sour on both of them in the offseason and didn’t think they’d repeat their 2025 success, but they’ve proved me wrong so far. Okamoto’s power has been great, but he’s not really the type of bat who can anchor a lineup the way Vlad and Bo were expected to. Varsho has been fine doing what he’s supposed to do, and he’s definitely capable of going on a power run for a couple of weeks if he locks in. They also need to get Valenzuela into the lineup more, especially with Kirk struggling since coming back. They also need to find a right-handed bat who can platoon with Lukes. Schneider clearly wasn't that guy and he’s been awful.

Clement isn't going anywhere. He is the most marketable player on the Jays and probably one of the most marketable players in the MLB now haha.

Vlad pretty much has become Lyle Overbay this season.

The high BB/9 is what's going to hold him back from being a true #1 but yeah this offense needs to step up plain and simple. Cease reminds me a lot of AJ Burnett - excellent stuff but needs to harness it more consistently. Regardless he's still a very solid 1A or #2 even with the control issues. It's crazy he's never had a BB/9 lower than 3.00 before - he's always averaged high 3's pretty much throughout his career.

I don't think most casual fans know who both those guys are. I guarantee you walk around the Corona Rooftop bar and ask, you'll get a lot of blank faces lol.

Bullpen should be fine for today. Just need Cease to pitch 5-6 innings lol. Varland only with 10 pitches, so should be good again today. Rogers, Hoffman and Fluharty not used, so good to go! Would be nice if Jays bats could put up a crooked number against Quantrill!

They can't start Valenzuela only twice per week. They need to get his bat in the lineup at least 3-4 times per week minimum, even if that means using him or Kirk as a DH.

Brownie19 to Jays24 if the Jays have a comeback win tonight:

Term to all the naysayers if the Jays have a comeback win tonight:

Not "The Grey" with Liam Neeson?

Max did write an essay a couple posts above lol.

SWR had a nice stretch for the Jays and gave them some important innings when the team really needed them. But the advanced metrics painted a different picture, and we all knew those results probably weren’t going to last. He’s a back-end bullpen piece who can eat innings, and that’s about it. He was likely going to be the first guy cut once they needed to make roster moves. Hopefully he passes through waivers and can be sent down to AAA. Depth never hurts.

Why are we comparing Hoffman to SWR? Jays24 was obviously joking and stirring the pot. You guys fall for the bait way too easily. Hoffman’s ratios are clearly better than SWR’s. Nobody is arguing otherwise. SWR is just a long man out of the pen - nothing special. Hoffman, when he’s on, can be an elite weapon in relief. And since being removed from the closer’s role, he’s looked a lot more comfortable. He’s not going to be perfect every outing, but if he can limit those implosions every couple of weeks, the Jays should be fine.