Jesse Burrill

Turns out, you can't predict baseball. Every season, baseball throws something at us that no one expected. From statistical rarities like an unassisted triple play to a team going from three straight 100-loss seasons to suddenly making the playoffs, baseball always finds a way to surprise us. It truly is a sport where chaos is part of its nature. That’s why today we’re not going to try to predict baseball. (We already tried that.) The Jays Centre staff is taking our game another way, and we’re trying to make some bold predictions about baseball's offseason instead. Below, you'll find seven predictions from our staff, with my own analysis underneath. Whether it's guessing which players the Blue Jays will sign/trade for, predicting something lockout-related, or imagining something off the field, like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. dying his hair pink (oh wait, that one happened), it’s time to call our shots. Matthew Creally - The Blue Jays eat money and move on from José Berríos or Andrés Giménez Front offices are always aware of how much money they spend on payroll. Even as the Blue Jays add to their roster, they could still find a way to move money, especially if the new CBA negotiations add major penalties. José Berríos and Andrés Giménez rank third and fourth, respectively, in average annual value going into 2027, with Berríos unlikely to exercise his opt-out and Giménez under team control through 2030. If the Blue Jays want to move some money around, moving on from one or both could be the play. It won't be easy and will likely involve the Blue Jays retaining money or including a prospect in the deal, but the front office will likely at least explore it. Whether it gets done is a different story, but that's what makes this prediction bold. Sam Charles - The Blue Jays find a second baseman via trade or free agency, giving the franchise another season to prepare for JoJo Parker The Blue Jays will likely look for middle infield help this winter. As our Middle Infield Depth Check notes, the group could use an upgrade, and the Blue Jays checked in on some middle infielders at the 2026 trade deadline. The real boldness of this prediction lies with JoJo Parker, not the potential new second baseman. If the Blue Jays believe Parker could be a high-impact player, they might not want to sign or trade for a second baseman with several years of team control. Could Jazz Chisholm Jr. be interested in a short-term deal and then try to enter free agency again? Brandon Lowe is 32 and may be better suited to a shorter term; Luis Arraez or Gleyber Torres could also serve as short-term replacements. The Blue Jays will try to walk a fine line: add offense in 2027 without making a long-term commitment that could block their prized infield prospect’s path to the majors. Bryan Jaeger - The Blue Jays' big-bat acquisition will come via trade. And Nolan Perry and/or Ricky Tiedemann will be the piece moved to get them The Blue Jays recently dipped into their prospect pool to improve the big league roster, trading away top infield prospect Arjun Nimmala at the most recent trade deadline to bolster their pitching staff. So there is certainly a case they will do it again. Nolan Perry has quickly risen through the Blue Jays' farm system and recently earned recognition as a runner-up for MiLB Breakout Player of the Year. His breakout season has increased his value around the league, potentially making him an attractive piece in a deal for an established big league bat. Ricky Tiedemann, on the other hand, has had some of the shine wear off since he was a top-100 prospect, but in 2026 he showed he could get healthy and had moments in the big leagues. Pitching primarily in relief, he appeared in five games and struck out 27.6% of batters he faced. The left-hander still has plenty of upside paired with big league experience, making him an intriguing option for any team looking for young, controllable starting pitching, particularly if another team wants to stretch him into a starting role this spring. The price will be high, but that's just the price of doing business in baseball. Leo Morgenstern - The Blue Jays' biggest free agent signing will be a pitcher, not a hitter Given how poor the Blue Jays offense was in 2026, most expect their biggest move to be on offense. However, there is more than one way to build a championship roster. Last season, the Blue Jays signed Dylan Cease to a seven-year contract, so they are no strangers to dipping into the pitching market. The Blue Jays may kick the tires on Tarik Skubal, or make calls on Michael King, Freddy Peralta, or Adrian Morejon, and rely more on bouncebacks from the players they already have to improve the offense. It won't be the most popular move, but that's what makes it bold, and while offense remains the most obvious area of need, the Jays may decide adding another high-end pitcher is the best way to improve their chances of competing again in 2027. Owen Hill - Brett Bateman does NOT open 2027 as the Blue Jays' starting center fielder No, this is not Brett Bateman slander. Bateman was incredible after he came over at the trade deadline and quickly became a mainstay for the Blue Jays down the stretch. After the trade deadline, he was the Blue Jays' second-best position player by fWAR, with a top-25 mark in baseball over that span. So it would be easy to just pencil him back in to center field going into 2027. But this prediction can come true in many ways. The Blue Jays outfield mix is already crowded. Addison Barger and Anthony Santander will return and get more time in the outfield. Nathan Lukes will still be around, and Jonatan Clase is out of options, so the Blue Jays will either have to move on from him or give him an extended look. Plus, the Blue Jays could add a center fielder. Tyrone Taylor or Trent Grisham could be of interest and play center field. Or the Blue Jays could bring back Myles Straw and go with elite defense in center field again, and they always have the option of going the trade route. Injuries, positional movement, and role will all play a factor here too, but on paper, Bateman seems set to be the everyday center fielder in 2027, which is what makes this prediction bold. Mike LeSage - Kevin Gausman will re-sign with the Blue Jays The fit makes too much sense to ignore. By all accounts, Kevin Gausman and his family loved their time in Toronto, and the Blue Jays loved having him around, as his five-year, $110 million contract may go down as one of the best in franchise history. Going into 2027, there may be a match. Gausman will be 36 by next season, and in 2026, his ERA rose above 4.00 for the first time since 2019, while his fastball velocity dropped, likely a testament to how many innings he’s thrown over the last half-decade. Pair that with the fact that the Blue Jays already seem to have several starting pitching options (stop me if you've heard that before), and the team might look elsewhere when deciding how to allocate its resources this winter. But that's what makes this prediction bold. Gausman knows he’ll be comfortable in Toronto, and much of the Blue Jays fanbase will be happy to see him return. He just put his Toronto home up for sale, and with several former Blue Jays scattered across free agent leaderboards, Gausman may be the Blue Jays' biggest temptation to reunite with. Jesse Burrill - The Blue Jays will prioritize range and speed with their outfield acquisitions this winter With recent reports of MLB testing outfield positional rules to spur offense, outfielders could soon need designated starting positions on the grass, meaning range and speed in the outfield will matter more, and the Blue Jays may use this winter to get a head start. Bateman already has range and speed in the outfield, and Lukes has a strong glove, too, but I bet the team wants to add a defensive first outfielder to double down on that strength and improve the offense elsewhere. Cedric Mullins was fifth in OAA among outfielders in 2026 and could be an interesting fit. The Jays may pick up the option on Straw again. Seiya Suzuki isn’t at the same level on defense, but he ranked in the 88th percentile in outs above average and provides the best mix of offensive impact with defensive prowess. He could be a target on the higher end. With Ross Atkins also identifying baserunning as an area for improvement in 2027, the Blue Jays could prioritize outfielders who address both needs. Adding a player with above-average speed and defensive range would improve Toronto's ability to take extra bases and cover more ground in the outfield, while they look to get their high-impact offensive addition at another position. Will any of these predictions come true? It's hard to say. Our regular season bold takes have proven that predicting baseball is nearly impossible, and with one of the more unpredictable offseasons ahead, the challenge gets even harder. But if even one of these comes true, that’s a success and worth celebrating. For now, baseball rests, and it's time for transactions. View full article

I actually think Bieber has the best chance of a return. He's the youngest of the group, and you can still squint and see the upside that he showed back when he was with Cleveland, he did have some solid starts right before his injury and I can see a world where he is the choice the team makes.

Every successful Blue Jays playoff team has featured a strong double-play combination. Bo Bichette, Andrés Giménez, and Ernie Clement were key contributors to the 2025 World Series run, and Troy Tulowitzki and the Ryan Goins-Devon Travis tandem helped the Blue Jays in their mid-2010s playoff push, providing a strong mix in the field and at the plate. Over the past five seasons, the Jays have accumulated 30.8 fWAR from their middle infielders, good for 12th in baseball; last season, it was 4.7, right in the middle at 15th in the league, a fine spot to be in, but one where the Blue Jays could improve. It seems like that’s a route the Blue Jays may already be exploring. According to Mitch Bannon, the Blue Jays discussed a move for a middle infielder at this past trade deadline; combined with Ross Atkins' post-season comments about Clement having to “earn" an everyday role in 2027, the possibility remains high that the Blue Jays look to add to their middle infield group going into next season. For now, let's look at the players who could fill out the infield and assess where the team stands heading into the offseason. Check out prior entries in our Depth Check series here: Catcher Infielders Outfield The Starters Ernie Clement 2026 Stats: .259/.285/.364, 9 HR, 80 wRC+, 0.6 fWAR Ernie Clement’s 2026 season was a tale of two halves. In the first half, it looked like he was riding off the momentum from an exceptional postseason. He hit .296, hit eight of his nine home runs, and tied for the AL lead in doubles, earning him the starting second baseman spot at the All-Star Game. Whether it was injuries, fatigue, or overexposure, Ernie struggled in the second half. Pitchers threw him a career-low 46.9% of pitches in the zone, and he kept swinging, resulting in a .203 average and a dreadful 36 wRC+ during that stretch. The defense also took a noticeable step back, dropping from +10 in Baseball Savant's defensive run value in 2025 to -3 last season. As things stand, he’s currently the favorite to be out there as the starting second baseman when camp begins, but with Atkins’ comments about Clement having to earn his role, and the possibility that the Jays use the second base position to upgrade their roster, there is a chance Ernie slides back to a utility infield role, where he’s had success in the past. Andrés Giménez 2026 Stats: .244/.291/.350, 9 HR, 81 wRC+, 2.8 fWAR Giménez took over as the everyday shortstop at the start of 2026, and he was as good as ever defensively. He led the team in fielding run value and trailed only Masyn Winn and Bobby Witt Jr. among major league shortstops. On top of that, he led the Jays with 20 stolen bases, ranked second in RBIs, and had a knack for coming up in the clutch. Offensively, there is plenty of room for improvement. His MVP-caliber 2022 season in Cleveland is in the rearview mirror now, and down the stretch, when the team struggled offensively, John Schneider started platooning Giménez to add thump to the lineup. As the team looks to add more offense, one option is another shortstop who can take at-bats against righties. With elite defense and the ability to run the bases, Andrés Giménez can help the team win from the bottom of the order, whether he’s hitting well or not. Major League Options Josh Smith 2026 Stats (with TOR & TEX): .203/.290/.321, 6 HR, 75 wRC+, 0.1 fWAR Smith provided the Blue Jays with a much-needed offensive boost after arriving at the trade deadline, hitting five home runs and posting 0.4 fWAR in just 35 games. Smith has mostly been used as a super utility player, particularly against righties, and he’ll likely do the same in 2027 unless the team makes a major move. The Blue Jays have an arbitration decision to make on Smith, with MLB Trade Rumors projecting a $3.7 million salary. The Blue Jays will either have to settle on a contract or non-tender Smith and look elsewhere for middle-infield options. As things stand now, he’s still in the picture for the middle infield, and while he didn’t see any time at shortstop with the Jays in 2026, he did log over 400 innings at that position with the Rangers the year prior. Despite his defense not being a standout tool at short, he could stand in there in a pinch if needed. Davis Schneider 2026 Stats: .145/.310/.315, 5 HR, 84 wRC+, -0.2 fWAR Schneider's 2026 season was quite a disappointment. He was set to platoon against left-handed pitching, and it was a struggle. He spent the year up and down between the Blue Jays and Buffalo. While his big league time was a struggle, he hit well in the minors (.910 OPS and a .450 OBP), suggesting he still has the tools to be productive. Like Smith, Schneider is set to hit arbitration and is projected to earn around $1.3 million. The Blue Jays need to decide whether that price is worth the roster spot. Schneider still has a minor league option available, which will factor into that decision as well, but unlike Smith, Schneider will only see time at second base or in the outfield. That means his bat needs to improve significantly for him to remain a useful contributor going forward. Charles McAdoo 2026 Stats: .258/.302/.392, 3 HR, 93 wRC+, 0.4 fWAR McAdoo went from a prospect who spent time back in the development complex in 2025 to one who took a massive step forward in 2026, making his way to the big league roster. McAdoo held his own, playing first, second, and third, and spending some time in left field as well. While Davis Schneider struggled to hit, McAdoo had his moments and has made a strong case for inclusion in the Blue Jays' middle-infield/super utility group. Like the two before him, he’s unlikely to see any time at shortstop, but he adds speed that Smith and Schneider don’t. Pair that with the fact that he's still in his pre-arbitration years, and he offers the Blue Jays a more cost-effective option if they go that route. With another strong season, McAdoo could quickly pass the other two on the depth chart and become a key part of the Blue Jays bench as soon as this upcoming season. On the Farm Adrian Pinto 2026 Stats (A, AA): .240/.359/.388, 3 HR, 104 wRC+ Down on the farm, the Blue Jays have some intriguing infield options. First on the list is Adrian Pinto. The Blue Jays acquired Pinto, along with Raimel Tapia, for Randal Grichuk before the 2022 season. Originally touted as a speed-first prospect, the stolen-base total has fallen off from 41 in the DSL with the Rockies to just six total in the past three seasons in the Blue Jays minor league system. Injuries have likely played a part, but the bat has still played at every stop. The 5-foot-6 infielder has good contact skills and still has the chance to develop some power down the line. 2027 will be a big year for Pinto, who needs to stay healthy to get as many reps as possible, but if all goes well, he can raise his prospect standing and put himself in the mix for big league time. Josh Kasevich 2026 Stats (AAA): .282/.364/.363, 4 HR, 101 wRC+ Kasevich was the talk of Blue Jays spring training, where he looked like the next prospect to contribute to the big league roster, but the 2026 season didn't go that way. The 25-year-old stayed healthy this season, appearing in 130 games for the Bisons, but the power numbers weren't there. He hit just four home runs and posted a 0.9% barrel rate. His hit tool carries him, and he can get the bat on anything (88.9% contact rate), which the Blue Jays love, and his primary shortstop role gives him a leg up on some of the other options on this list. But the numbers have dipped, and his prospect shine has dipped with them. 2027 will be a big year for him; if his contact skill stays strong and his power picks up, he could get time on the big league roster this upcoming season. Josh Rivera 2026 Stats (A, AA, AAA): .215/.282/.376, 12 HR, 73 wRC+ If the Blue Jays want the best defensive option up the middle, Rivera is an intriguing candidate among those close to the big leagues who fit that mould. Playing primarily at shortstop, the 26-year-old reached Triple-A Buffalo by season's end and is one step away from the big leagues. The hit tool may not be a strength – a sub-.300 OBP and a batting average in the low .200s aren't ideal – so he likely won’t be a major league regular until that improves. Still, he has enough power to hit a home run now and again. He did take former Blue Jay Tim Mayza deep in spring training, and every big league bench can find room for a player who plays good defense and can hit a home run. Several names are ahead of him on the depth chart, but Rivera shouldn’t be forgotten. JoJo Parker 2026 Stats (A, A+): .270/.399/.460, 13 HR, 128 wRC+ The Blue Jays' first-round pick in 2025 hit the ground running in his first professional season: 13 home runs, 28 stolen bases, and an OBP just shy of .400. In fact, Parker's performance may have helped sway the Blue Jays to move on from top shortstop prospect Arjun Nimmala at the past trade deadline. The 20-year-old infielder will have a lot of eyes on him come spring training, and he has the highest ceiling of any middle-infield prospect discussed here. Still, even if he has a monster spring training, it seems unlikely that he’ll make the team out of camp and is likely more of a 2028 option. However, players with his unique mix of power, speed, defense, and hit tool don’t come around often. If the Blue Jays are in contention and struggling at middle infield, Parker gets a non-zero chance at a look, and while he’s furthest from the big leagues right now, the upside is certainly worth watching. Overall, the Blue Jays have plenty of options at middle infield, but there are more question marks than clear answers. Clement needs to show he can rebound from a dreadful second half; Pinto, Rivera, and Kasevich all have talent but are far from perfect; and even Parker isn't guaranteed to be an impact player right away. The group is solid, and the team can succeed without offseason acquisitions, but adding another piece or two would help, and it's something the team should consider this winter. More Rule 5-Eligible Middle Infielders Pinto, Kasevich, and Rivera will be eligible for the Rule 5 draft this offseason. More Rule 5-eligible middle infielders in the Blue Jays organization include: Jay Harry Cutter Coffey Tucker Toman Nick Goodwin View full article

Optimism surrounds every team entering spring training. The weather is getting a little warmer, the days are getting a little longer, and if you scroll through social media timelines, you will see the boys of summer donning their Blue Jays gear and getting work in down in Dunedin, Florida. This past season, in particular, optimism was at an all-time high; the Jays played baseball well into November the year prior, the city buzzed with baseball fever, and people thought this year they would get over the hump and be the only team left standing at the end of it all. In the end, the Blue Jays fell short and missed the playoffs entirely, but let's flash back to March, when optimism was high, and check in on some of the bold predictions we made to see where we ended up. Just like the players on the field, we writers need to be held accountable, too. 1) Michael Coyle: Kevin Gausman and Dylan Cease both throw over 200 IP and strike out over 200 batters Did it happen? - No In hindsight, betting on two of the most dominant and consistent workhorse starters over the past five seasons wasn’t a bad bet. Cease had been one of baseball's most durable pitchers, and only Logan Webb had thrown more innings than Gausman over the previous four seasons, but unfortunately, this didn’t come true. Dylan Cease had a dominant first season in Toronto, one that will likely earn him Cy Young votes, and he eclipsed the 200+ strikeout mark, finishing with 239, third-best in baseball. But that was the only part of this prediction that worked out. Cease spent some time on the IL and finished with just 169 innings pitched. Gausman threw 127.1 in Toronto and another 50.1 with the Cubs, and he only finished with 181 strikeouts across both teams, so not quite there. This isn't necessarily a knock on them; only three pitchers in the majors eclipsed the 200 innings mark (Sandy Alcantara, Cristopher Sánchez, Michael Wacha), and only 13 eclipsed the 200 strikeout mark, which is what made this prediction bold in the first place. It may be a while before we see another Blue Jays starter push past 200 IP again. 2) Matthew Creally: Brendon Little will have a sub-2.50 ERA Did it happen? - No Welp. Overall, Little didn't get there. He was a big part of the bullpen in the first half of the 2025 season. Then he faded down the stretch and into the playoffs, and a portion of the fanbase started to turn on Little. But back in March, things were looking better; Little had made some changes to his pitch mix. He added a four-seam fastball and a re-tooled slider to his arsenal, and John Schneider even called Little his reliever MVP of the spring after he did not allow a run and struck out over 40% of batters. Unfortunately, things went south quickly. Little allowed runs in four of his first five appearances, and three of them were three-run outings or worse. From there, the team optioned him to the minors, and he didn't return full-time until July. Overall, he finished the season with a 6.35 ERA. However, over his 23.2 innings in the second half, he produced a 2.28 ERA, so there's reason to be optimistic about Little again going into 2027. 3) Mike LeSage: Kevin Gausman will finish second in Cy Young voting Did it happen? - Still pending (but no) The good news: The Blue Jays will likely have a pitcher finish second in Cy Young voting! The bad news: it won't be Kevin Gausman. Like the 200+ inning and strikeout call, some bets were on Gausman continuing to do what he’s always done, but as he pitched through his age-35 season, his effectiveness dropped a touch from previous levels. While his strikeout and walk numbers were generally the same as they were in his prior two seasons, he allowed more hits and gave up more home runs. It wasn’t a bad season, but Gausman needed to take a leap forward to enter the Cy Young contention, and that didn’t happen. 4) Bryan Jaeger: Daulton Varsho finishes top three in AL MVP voting Did it happen? - Still pending (but no) Oh, what could have been for Daulton Varsho. Not only will he not finish top three in MVP voting, but he also wasn’t even in the top three on his own team (either of them). He hit just seven home runs, posted a 91 wRC+, and his usually elite defence took a step back. Flash back to 2025, and it looked like Varsho had made some serious changes to his game. He hit 20 home runs in just 71 games and seemed like he was about to catapult in his walk year as a power hitter with excellent center field defence. The recipe for an elite season from Varsho was there, but it fell apart, and it got even worse after a midseason trade to Houston. What will happen for Varsho on the free-agent market remains to be seen, but his drop-off from such promise to such a disappointing season helped keep the Blue Jays out of the playoff race. We’ll see what happens for him this offseason. 5) Simon Li: Austin Cates jumps into the top 15 in the Blue Jays system Did this happen - No Now for one from down on the farm. Cates was an intriguing arm entering the system. The 23-year-old had success pitching for Dunedin and then Vancouver in prior years. While his 2026 season wasn’t bad and there's reason for optimism, he’s unlikely to rank among the system's top 15 prospects. He got the bump to Double-A this year, where he started 20 games and posted a 5.17 ERA. He still has a nice fastball/splitter combo that can play well when he locates effectively, and he’s still young. Cates started the Blue Jays' spring breakout game in 2026 and remains an intriguing prospect. The team should get a good look at Cates next spring, and this prediction may be a year too early for the young right-hander. But ultimately, he’s not ranked among Jays Centre's top 15 prospects (or any major publication's list), so this one is also incorrect for now. 6) Sam Charles: The Blue Jays will not win more than 80 games Did this happen? - Yes Well, the good news: We got one right! The bad news: This wasn't the outcome we wanted. We all know how the season played out. The offense was dreadful, the injury bug devastated the pitching staff, and in the end, the Jays finished with just 79 wins. George Springer, Daulton Varsho, Alejandro Kirk, Davis Schneider, Nathan Lukes, Myles Straw, and Ernie Clement all finished with a higher wRC+ in 2025 than in 2026, and the team also got almost nothing from Anthony Santander and Addison Barger; the season was a bust for Vladimir Guerrero Jr., too. The good news is the Blue Jays should bounce back to a more respectable win total in 2027, but there are more questions now than before this year. 7) Edward Eng: Jeff Hoffman figures out the home run issues and becomes the shutdown closer the Blue Jays need Did this happen? - No Well, the first half of the bold prediction was true! Jeff Hoffman did figure out his home run issues. His astonishing 1.99 HR/9 from 2025 dropped to 0.55 this past season, his lowest since 2023 with the Phillies. Still, ultimately this prediction wasn’t the case. Hoffman was removed from the closer role by the end of April, and Louis Varland put together one of the best closer seasons by a Blue Jay in his place instead. It wasn’t the home runs that got Hoffman; it was an extremely high BABIP. It finished at .356, but early in the season it was well over .400, both extremely high numbers. It wasn’t BABIP alone that got Hoffman removed from the role, but it's important to note that Hoffman was still solid through the middle of the season and gave the Blue Jays some quality relief before a midseason trade sent him to Minnesota. In the end, the Blue Jays got the shutdown closer they needed, but it just wasn't Jeff Hoffman. 8) Leo Morgenstern: Two Blue Jays will make their first All-Star Game this summer Did this happen? - Yes Success! The 2026 All-Star Game was very Blue Jays-prominent, with John Schneider and his coaching staff leading a bullpen game, and the AL side winning 4-0. Three Blue Jays became first-time All-Stars: Dylan Cease, Ernie Clement, and Louis Varland all represented the Blue Jays in Philadelphia this summer. The Blue Jays started that game with one of their first-time All-Stars, Cease, who led AL pitchers in fWAR through the first half of the season and threw a clean first inning to start the Midsummer Classic. Joining him as a first-time All-Star was Clement, who not only won the vote to start at second base but also led the American League with over 3.2 million votes. Varland gave up a hit and struck out one in a clean relief inning, and John Schneider and the coaching staff went home happy. Kazuma Okamoto, Addison Barger, or, to a lesser extent, Cody Ponce or Spencer Miles could have a shot to crack the All-Star Game for the first time next season. If I wanted to be pedantic, I could say this prediction was wrong because the Blue Jays sent three players to their first All-Star Game and not two, but we need a win, and we’ll take that here. 9) Owen Hill: José Berríos makes more starts than Max Scherzer Did it happen? - No At the time, you could see how bold this prediction was. José Berríos was set to start the season on the IL, but his season wasn't over yet. Max Scherzer joined late in spring and was entering what, at the time, was a crowded starting-pitching puzzle. Unfortunately, Berrios had Tommy John surgery on his right elbow and didn’t make a start for the 2026 Toronto Blue Jays. Scherzer, on the other hand, ended up making 18 starts for the team, and at times the Jays were relying on Scherzer while they didn't have many other options in the starting rotation. Berríos will likely miss the start of next season, but assuming no setbacks, he will be on the comeback trail in 2027. What Scherzer will do, on the other hand, remains to be seen; the now 43-year-old could retire from baseball, or he could rejoin the Blue Jays or another team. 10) Bob Ritchie: Andrés Giménez steals 25+ bases and has a wRC+ above 114 Did this happen? - No Andrés Giménez didn't hit these numbers in 2026. Giménez did lead the team with 20 stolen bases, but didn't reach the 25 plateau after stealing 30 in both 2023 and 2024. As for his wRC+, while it improved from 2025, he finished at just 81, 19% below league average. Giménez did have his moments at the plate, though; he led the team in RBI with 59 and ranked third in raw +WPA, showing he can still come up with some clutch production. The Andrés Giménez who finished sixth in MVP voting in 2022 seems well in the rearview mirror now, and barring something unexpected, the bat seems to have settled around this range for the time being. 11) Jesse Burrill: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will set the record for the hardest hit ball in the Statcast era Did this happen? - No Ever since Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was a prospect and was crushing baseballs harder than ever, I've always thought he’d one day sit at the top of the exit velocity leaderboards. The current leader was Oneil Cruz, who hit a baseball at 122.9 mph in 2025 and also hit the hardest ball in 2026 at 119 mph. Vlad’s hardest-hit ball was 116.3 mph, which still put him 13th in baseball in max EV, but that was his lowest max EV since the COVID-shortened 2020 season. His overall offensive numbers were down across the board, and his exit velocity numbers were a part of that too. He hit a baseball at 120.4 mph in 2025, so he can still put it all together. But Vlad has a lot of work to do at the plate before he can worry about elite EV numbers, no matter how fun that would be. Overall, as a group, the Jays Centre staff went 2-9 on our bold predictions. So we're batting .222 as a unit. Or the equivalent of Brandon Valenzuela’s batting average. But that's the point of bold predictions. If we got too many right, you could argue they weren’t bold enough, and if we got none, that wouldn't be great either. Going into spring 2027, once the players and owners have come to terms on a CBA (hopefully), we can get optimistic about baseball again, and I'm sure the predictions will be even bolder next time around. View full article

The 2026 Toronto Blue Jays will be remembered as a team that fell short of everyone's expectations. The offence never got going all year, and rotation injuries tested the team's pitching depth early and often. In the end, the Blue Jays bullpen became the team's most reliable unit all season. The relievers combined for a 3.57 ERA, the seventh-best in baseball, while leading the majors with 686.2 IP; their run prevention and workload made the bullpen a bright spot in an otherwise disappointing season. A dominant bullpen isn't everything, but it's certainly key to racking up wins and reaching the postseason. In fact, eight of the top 10 teams in bullpen ERA made the playoffs, with the Blue Jays (7th) and Mets (10th) the only exceptions. Still, a strong bullpen doesn’t guarantee anything. The Blue Jays' relievers helped the team stay competitive despite the rest of the roster's struggles. With that in mind, let's look at the bullpen's season standouts before naming one of them the Jays Centre Reliever of the Year. Honourable Mentions Braydon Fisher 2026 Stats: 3.21 ERA, 4.38 FIP, 9.7% K-BB%, 1.66 WPA, 0.0 fWAR, 75.2 IP Braydon Fisher's sophomore campaign with the Blue Jays was quietly effective. The 25-year-old right-hander appeared in 75 games this season, a top-10 mark, and filled several roles. In fact, Fisher was one of only four pitchers in baseball to reach double digits in both games started and games finished this season, and the first Blue Jay to do so since Kelvim Escobar in 2003. This gave John Schneider a reliable option at any point in the ballgame Fisher still has room to improve, particularly in limiting walks and preventing baserunners from scoring, and a gap existed between his ERA and his xERA and FIP numbers. However, his ability to shoulder a substantial workload made him a valuable contributor to the Blue Jays bullpen in 2026, and the team should rely on him heavily again in 2027. Jeff Hoffman 2026 stats (with Blue Jays): 3.94 ERA, 2.50 FIP, 26.5% K-BB%, -1.75 WPA, 1.1 fWAR, 48.0 IP Jeff Hoffman's time in Toronto was a tale of two seasons. After struggling early and losing the closer role, he settled into a much more effective stretch before the Twins acquired him at the trade deadline. Hoffman still ranked fifth on the team in appearances and led the team in K-BB% (min. 10 IP). Between losing the closer's job and being traded, Hoffman posted a 3.11 ERA and 2.38 FIP and was otherwise dominant, striking out 52 batters while issuing just 12 walks over 38.2 innings. His 26.5% strikeout-minus-walk rate with Toronto was the best among pitchers with at least 10 innings pitched, highlighting his ability to miss bats and limit free passes. His negative WPA reflects the damage done in high-leverage situations, particularly early in the season; that and a midseason trade is why he didn't finish higher on this list. Still, his strong underlying numbers and effective finish in Toronto make him worthy of an honourable mention, even though he didn't finish the season with the Blue Jays. Mason Fluharty 2026 stats: 3.30 ERA, 3.66 FIP, 14.1% K-BB%, 0.95 WPA, 0.6 fWAR, 62.2 IP No pitcher in baseball appeared in more games this season than Mason Fluharty. His 83 appearances reflect John Schnieders trust in the left-hander's performance and his ability to stay healthy while handling a demanding workload. Fluharty’s 83 appearances led the majors and rank second in franchise history, behind Mark Eichhorn’s 89-game campaign in 1987. Fluharty also excelled at inducing soft contact, finishing in the top five percent of pitchers in both average exit velocity and expected batting average against. This shows how hard it was for opposing hitters to square up the ball against him. After such a heavy workload, how Fluharty adjusts heading into 2027 will be worth watching. Regardless, his durability and ability to limit quality contact made him a key part of the Jays bullpen this season, and the Jays will rely on him again as their top left-handed relief option in 2027. No. 3: Spencer Miles 2026 stats: 2.63 ERA, 2.65 FIP, 17.5% K-BB%, 2.08 WPA, 2.0 fWAR, 95.2 IP What a season Spencer Miles put together. After being selected by Toronto in the Rule 5 draft, Miles made the team out of spring training and quickly became one of the Blue Jays' most versatile pitchers. Miles took on several roles throughout the season, moving between the starting rotation, opener duties, and bulk relief before eventually earning opportunities in high-leverage situations. No matter how the Blue Jays deployed him, he delivered. His 2.63 ERA was nearly identical to his 2.65 FIP, suggesting his run prevention was supported by his underlying performance. Miles’s workload exceeded expectations: after just 14.2 professional innings before this season, he jumped to 95.2 innings pitched while contributing in a variety of situations. Hardly anyone would have expected this sort of performance from Miles coming into the year, but he looked poised beyond his years and dominated in his rookie season. Heading into 2027, his role remains an interesting question, but his rookie season has given the team plenty of reasons to trust him with important innings. No. 2: Tyler Rogers 2026 Stats: 1.77 ERA, 3.35 FIP, 6.1% K-BB%, 2.20 WPA, 1.1 fWAR, 71 IP Tyler Rogers made an immediate impact in the first year of his three-year, $37 million contract with Toronto. The 35-year-old submariner posted a 1.77 ERA, second among Blue Jays pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched, while leading the majors with 33 holds. Rogers continued to excel at limiting hard contact, leading the Blue Jays in barrel rate, hard-hit rate, and average exit velocity against. As he has throughout his career, his 63.7% ground-ball rate was another major strength, letting him consistently generate grounders rather than rely on strikeouts to get outs. While his ability to suppress contact and generate ground balls produced excellent results, his strikeout and walk numbers suggest a different picture than his ERA alone. Both numbers have dipped compared to recent seasons, but that may matter less for a pitcher as unique as Rogers; it doesn't diminish the season he delivered, it just adds context to how he succeeded. Rogers was one of Toronto's most effective relievers in 2026 and should remain an important bullpen piece heading into next season. No. 1: Louis Varland 2026 stats: 1.27 ERA, 1.83 FIP, 24.1% K-BB%, 3.80 WPA, 3.1 fWAR, 78.0 IP Louis Varland was the clear choice for the Blue Jays' Reliever of the Year. He paired an elite 1.27 ERA with a 1.83 FIP. With a 24.1% strikeout-minus-walk rate, Varland combined outstanding run prevention with the ability to miss bats and limit free passes. It meant it was lights out for the opposition in the ninth inning. Varland didn't take over as the Blue Jays' closer until late April, but he quickly became the team's go-to option in the ninth inning. After starting the season without a save in his career, he finished with 35, anchoring the back end of the bullpen while also recording multiple six-out saves when the Blue Jays needed more than three outs. His 3.80 WPA was the best on the team and ranked among the best reliever performances in baseball this season. That number is also the highest for any Blue Jays pitcher since Jordan Romano in 2021 (3.82). With 3.1 fWAR in 78 innings, Varland's season stands out not only for his impressive run prevention but also for the value he provided throughout the year. Tyler Rogers had an outstanding season, and in any other year, he would have been a winner. Still, Varland's advantage in ERA, FIP, strikeout-minus-walk rate, WPA, and fWAR, and his becoming one of the best relievers in all of baseball, make it an easy choice. He was the Blue Jays' most dominant and impactful reliever in 2026, and the Blue Jays will once again count on him in high-leverage situations next season. View full article

The 2026 Blue Jays season certainly didn’t go the way anyone expected. Coming off a high from the World Series win the year prior, dealing with several injuries to key players throughout the roster, and with underperformance from the Blue Jays superstars, you could say the season was a little bit of a baseball hangover. But that doesn’t mean there weren’t still great moments. Even for an underperforming team, the Blue Jays still had moments of elation and excitement that brought us joy throughout the long baseball season. Looking back, here are the five games that I will remember most from 2026. March 28: Blue Jays 8, Athletics 7 (11 innings) Coming off a season-opening walk-off win against the Athletics, the Blue Jays' second game of the season was a ride and a true welcome back to the emotional roller coaster of Blue Jays baseball. Prized offseason addition Dylan Cease made his Blue Jays debut and shined right out of the gate. He struck out reigning rookie of the year Nick Kurtz on five pitches, and after battling his command, he found his game in the middle innings, striking out the side in order in both the fourth and fifth innings. The first start of a Cy Young-calibre season was underway. Things started to rattle once Cease left the game. After the first of what would be many relief appearances for Mason Fluharty, Brendon Little – whom John Schneider had just claimed as his spring training reliever MVP – entered the game. He immediately allowed three earned runs, and the Blue Jays fell behind 6-2 after the top of the seventh. But the Blue Jays fought their way back. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. drove in a run with an RBI single in the bottom half. Then, in the eighth, the Jays scored two more, and in the bottom of the ninth, Alejandro Kirk hit a solo home run to tie the game at six. With Jeff Hoffman blowing a save in the season opener, Louis Varland got the nod in the top of the 10th and allowed the zombie runner to score, but the Blue Jays answered again. This time, in the 11th, with the Blue Jays bullpen already overworked just two games into the season, the Blue Jays turned to Rule 5 pick Spencer Miles to make his major league debut. On his first batter, he immediately got a groundball right back to him and caught the zombie runner in a rundown to record his first big league out. After a strikeout, a walk and a fly ball, Miles had shown incredible poise by not only getting out of the inning clean, but earning the win in the process. When Ernie Clement hit a walk-off single in the bottom half of the 11th, the second walk-off win in two days, the Blue Jays were off to a 2-0 start. May 13: Blue Jays 5, Rays 3 (10 innings) A lot had changed between the game in March and where the Blue Jays found themselves in mid-May. Coming into this game, the Blue Jays were 18-24; they had lost three straight and seven of their previous nine, and even though it was early, they felt like they were quickly losing their place in the standings. Dylan Cease was on the mound again, and he continued his dominance: he fired seven innings, allowing just one run while striking out nine, his third straight seven-inning outing. But the Blue Jays offence was in a funk, and despite drawing four walks off Griffin Jax. They could muster only a Kazuma Okamoto sac fly paired with a 1-for-10 line with runners in scoring position; they couldn't score more than that through nine innings. Entering the 10th tied at one, Jeff Hoffman allowed two singles, two stolen bases, and, most importantly, two runs. It certainly felt like the Blue Jays were going to lose yet again. It would have been their eighth loss in their last 10. The Jays were looking for a moment, something that could spark the team and help them go on a run. The 2026 season was starting to feel like the first part of 2025, when the offence was struggling, and a Bo Bichette pinch-hit home run in Texas stole a win for the Blue Jays, and they were off to the races from there. For a moment, it looked like the Blue Jays found that spark in the bottom half, with George Springer running at second base and Guerrero and Okamoto both walking, setting the stage for Daulton Varsho to hit the Blue Jays' first walk-off grand slam since Steve Pearce in 2017. Ultimately, the home run didn’t magically fix the Blue Jays' season, but it gave the team and the fans a moment they desperately needed. The team then went on to win 10 of their next 15 and crawled back to the .500 mark. And for at least a few weeks, it felt like the Blue Jays were back. May 20: Blue Jays 2, Yankees 1 One of those 10 wins in their next 15 games following the Varsho walk-off grand slam was a trip back to the Bronx. The last time the Blue Jays were there, they had successfully pulled off a bullpen day to win the ALDS three games to one, punching their ticket into the League Championship Series. The Yankees showed they were ready this time. They had taken the first two games of the series, including tagging Dylan Cease for five earned runs the day prior, and had their ace Cam Schlittler on the mound. Countering for the Blue Jays was rookie phenom Trey Yesavage, who had made only four starts at that point. While the numbers were good, the Jays had yet to see the dominance they had seen from him in the 2025 postseason. Well, the two pitchers were as advertised. Yesavage was mowing them down. He allowed just two hits and struck out eight Yankee hitters, and you caught another glimpse of the upside the Jays rookie pitcher has. Unfortunately for the Jays, Schlittler was on the mound that day, too. The Blue Jays had just one batter reach base the first time through the order, and by the seventh inning, the scoreboard was knotted at zeros. Then the Blue Jays offence did what they do best: They got scrappy. Ernie Clement had an infield single, Jesús Sánchez drew a walk, and then Brandon Valenzuela tried to sacrifice himself, but the bunt was perfect, and he ended up reaching base himself, setting up the bases-loaded, no-out situation for Andrés Giménez. From there, Giménez had one of the best plate appearances of the year. Every time it looked like Schlittler was going to win the battle, Giménez found a way to keep fighting. He worked an 11-pitch plate appearance that included seven foul balls, not only to draw a walk but to knock Schlittler out of the game and, more importantly, give the Blue Jays the lead. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. added a sac fly, and despite Louis Varland allowing a run in the bottom of the ninth, he struck out Amed Rosario, and the Blue Jays were back to their winning ways. This game led to Schlittler's comments about the Blue Jays “BABIP-ing you to death” and was a key part of the narrative in the Cease vs. Schlittler AL Cy Young chase. This game may not be remembered by everyone, but it fit the script for how the Blue Jays were going to win games in 2026: be scrappy on offence and elite at preventing runs. On this Wednesday night in the Bronx, the Blue Jays did exactly that. July 8: Blue Jays 10, Giants 0 Sometimes a game turns out perfectly. The Blue Jays offence exploded in the top of the first, scoring five runs off Logan Webb, including an RBI single by Daulton Varsho and a grand slam by Kazuma Okamoto, and the Jays were off and running early. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer went back-to-back in the ninth to push the team to double-digit runs for the fifth time this season. But the story of this game wasn’t the offence; it was Dylan Cease. Cease retired the first nine batters he faced, and as he worked through the Giants lineup, the possibility of something special started to creep into the minds of everyone watching. He carried a perfect game into the fifth before a two-out walk to Willy Adames ended that part of the dream, but the no-hitter remained intact. He walked another batter in the sixth and seventh, but each time, Cease found a way out of the inning, and suddenly he was standing on the mound in the ninth with history within reach. By the ninth inning, no one could hide from what was happening. The Blue Jays had had only one in franchise history, and that was from Dave Stieb over 25 years earlier. Bowden Francis had his chances, as did Marco Estrada, Dustin McGowan, and Brandon Morrow before him, but Cease was trying to do what they couldn’t and get through nine innings without allowing a hit. As Cease took the mound in the bottom of the ninth on 115 pitches, John Schneider let his ace go out there and try for history. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be; three pitches into the ninth, Heliot Ramos lined a single up the middle, and the bid for the Blue Jays' second no-hitter was officially gone. Cease would have another dominant start two weeks later in Fenway Park, but this is the one I'll remember most. If Dylan Cease ever gets a no-hitter in his Blue Jays career, this start in San Francisco will be the one that gave us the tease that it was possible. September 27: Jays 5, Reds 1 This one isn’t necessarily about the game itself; it's more about what it meant to us as fans. This was Game 162, and with the Blue Jays already mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, the game didn't mean much in the standings. But for the players on the field, the sold-out Rogers Centre and the many watching at home, there was still plenty at stake emotionally. First, this was George Springer's last game as a Blue Jay (for now). John Schneider had him hit in the leadoff spot, as a tribute to him being one of the best power-hitting leadoff hitters of all time, and after he hit a double leading off the bottom of the third, he was removed for a pinch runner, allowing all the fans in attendance to give Springer a standing ovation for everything he’s done as a Toronto Blue Jay over the past six seasons. On the pitching side, the emotion ran even deeper. 42-year-old Max Scherzer took the mound for the Blue Jays on short rest and needed 10 strikeouts to tie Justin Verlander on the all-time strikeout list. He didn’t get there, but he still put on an incredible performance, striking out seven and throwing a season-high 114 pitches. The game had several nice moments. When John Schneider came out to talk to Scherzer on the mound, it was a quick visit, as any thought Schneider might have had of talking Mad Max out of the game was quickly pushed away by memories of Game 4 of the ALCS. After Max was removed from the game, there were incredible moments with his family, and shots of him going up and down the dugout sharing smiles, hugs, and moments with his teammates, showing how much love Scherzer had on this team. Whether or not this was the last game of his career, the first-ballot Hall of Famer remains one of baseball's most prominent pitchers over the past two decades. He won't be going into the Hall of Fame with a Blue Jays cap on, but you can’t tell the Max Scherzer story without mentioning the Blue Jays, and seeing him have that moment in Blue Jays blue was incredibly special. The game itself had its moments. Charles McAdoo and Brandon Valenzuela both hit home runs. Yet, what makes this game so memorable is that it was the potential end for two legends in the game of baseball, and two people who will forever have lasting moments in Blue Jays history. That's a memory we will carry with us forever. View full article

The Blue Jays' outfield group has been a revolving door all season. At times, the team has used its outfield spots to add offence, turning to bat-first players whose defence left something to be desired. At other times, the Blue Jays have gone in the opposite direction, relying on players whose speed and defence make up for what their shortcomings may be at the plate. Then there are the group of players who simply haven’t been able to stay on the field this season, leaving their place in the 2027 picture up in the air. While the Blue Jays are doing everything they can to secure a Wild Card spot in the final weeks of the season (and that remains the team's top priority), the bigger picture here is still worth watching. The Blue Jays already have a crowded group of outfielders going into 2027. With the team recently DFAing Jesús Sánchez, the picture has gotten a little clearer, but plenty of decisions remain. Here’s a look at the players who could factor into next season's outfield and what they need to show the Blue Jays down the stretch. Stats from before games on Saturday, September 12. Players With a Clear Path to a Role in 2027 Brett Bateman Stats in 2026: .339/.402/.424, 1 HR, 138 wRC+ 1.5 fWAR Contract Status: Pre-Arbitration, Free Agent in 2033 Brett Bateman has been a revelation for the Blue Jays since coming over from the Cubs at the deadline. Since he made his debut on August 7, he’s leading the team in fWAR. John Schneider has shown faith in the young center fielder, hitting him leadoff against both right- and left-handers. Even when the games matter most, Bateman has earned his manager's trust. For the rest of the 2026 season, Bateman needs to continue down the same path he’s on. His elite center field defence and 87th-percentile sprint speed give him a high floor, even if the bat isn’t at this level long-term, and he has put himself firmly in the 2027 conversation. Has he shown enough already to be the team's starting center fielder next season, or will the Blue Jays be cautious with their young outfielder and start him in the minors? His performance in the remaining weeks could help answer that question. Nathan Lukes Stats in 2026: .274/.322/.390, 10 HR, 102 wRC+, 1.8 fWAR Contract Status: Entering First Year of Arbitration, Free Agent in 2031 Nathan Lukes has almost quietly been one of the most productive outfielders for the Blue Jays this season. After dealing with injuries and vertigo early in the year, Lukes has hit well. John Schneider views him as a top-of-the-order bat against right-handed pitching (115 wRC+ vs. right-handers), and he has been producing as a league-average hitter who plays above-average defence. Lukes doesn’t have much to prove for the rest of the season, as the Blue Jays know what they have with the 31-year-old. But there have been subtle signs of slowing down with the bat: the strikeouts have risen (13.7% in 2025 to 14.6% in 2026), the walks have dropped (8.7% to 5.2%), and some of the quality-of-contact metrics have declined as well. Now that Lukes is entering his arbitration years and becoming more expensive for the team, the Blue Jays may think they can find similar production elsewhere. For now, though, Lukes looks likely to be back for 2027; the question is whether he is an everyday player or someone the Blue Jays strictly use off the bench to face right-handed pitching. Myles Straw Stats in 2026: .236/.299/.346, 3 HR, 82 wRC+, 0.8 fWAR Contract Status: Club Options for 2027 and 2028, $8 and $8.5 million, respectively Myles Straw has been exactly what the 2026 Blue Jays expected. Coming off a 2025 year in which he was a pleasant surprise, he’s essentially been the same player. Elite defence in all three outfield spots and 96th-percentile sprint speed are the tools he brings to the table. The bat will never be a strength for the 31-year-old outfielder, but he finds ways to contribute on the offensive side when he can. His outlook for 2027 is interesting. The Blue Jays do have club options for $8 million in 2027 and $8.5 million in 2028. On the free agent market, players with Straw's skill set historically haven’t gone for that much money, but the Blue Jays have an interesting choice to make. Do they continue to sacrifice offence in the outfield to keep their elite defence intact? Is it worth sacrificing a bench spot for a player who is out of options, with all the other outfielders set to return next season? It's an intriguing debate, and one the Blue Jays will certainly have internally, factoring in how important a presence he’s been in the Blue Jays clubhouse. It won’t be an easy decision. Anthony Santander Stats in 2026: N/A Contract Status: Under Contract Through 2029, Club Option for 2030 The Blue Jays are still waiting for impact from their big free agent signing prior to the 2025 season. After a sub-par first season, Anthony Santander injured his shoulder in spring training and has been out since. He has started playing in rehab games and, barring another setback, it does seem like he’ll get some playing time in the final weeks of the season. Showing the Blue Jays that he’s healthy and can hit will go a long way toward the team feeling confident about his future in 2027. With George Springer set to be a free agent at season's end, the DH spot opens, and Santander is the likeliest candidate for the role. This is still no guarantee; he needs to prove he’s healthy, and even when he’s been on the field as a Blue Jay, he hasn't been that productive (.565 OPS in 54 games). The Blue Jays will also likely be looking for impact bats this offseason, and the easiest spot to add one may be in the DH role. If that’s the case, Santander will be getting an extended look in the outfield, a place where, historically, he hasn't been that good. The Blue Jays need power in the worst way, and Santander is one of the few players on the roster who could provide it. But if he can't produce, Toronto could find itself in a similar situation to the one it just faced with Sánchez: his bat wasn't producing enough to justify the defensive shortcomings that came with it. Addison Barger Stats in 2026: .045/.214/.091, 0 HR, 1 wRC+, 0.0 fWAR (nine games played) Contract Status: Entering Final Pre-Arbitration Season, Free Agent in 2031 Like Santander, Addison Barger’s 2026 season has been mired in injuries. He dealt with ankle injuries early in the year that kept him out for over a month, returned for one game, then developed elbow inflammation that effectively ended his 2026 season. Barger’s key for the rest of the year is simple: He has to focus on getting healthy. If he does, his previous performance gives the Blue Jays plenty of reason to believe he can reclaim an important role in 2027. He was a key part of the 2025 season and playoff run, and with Kazuma Okamoto locked in as a regular at third base, the majority of Barger’s playing time is likely to come in right field. After he missed almost all of 2026, simply getting back on the field and showing that last year’s version of Barger is still there would be a major step forward, and he can be the impact bat the Blue Jays offence desperately needs going forward. Josh Smith 2026 Stats: .223/.312/.352, 6 HR, 90 wRC+, 0.3 fWAR Contract Status: Entering Second Year of Arbitration, Free Agent in 2029 Josh Smith has been the Blue Jays' best offensive player since coming over at the trade deadline. All things considered, he’s likely going to be spending more time in the infield than the outfield, but he has played nine games in left field, and notably, he was the first one out there after the Sánchez DFA, showing the Blue Jays want to get his bat in the lineup more. Because of his versatility, Smith isn’t necessarily competing with the other outfielders for playing time. His ability to move between the infield and the outfield will continue to be a great tool for John Schneider to have, particularly if his bat keeps improving. The Wild Cards Charles McAdoo 2026 Stats: .250/.299/.350, 2 HR, 83 wRC+, 0.2 fWAR (28 games played) Contract Status: Pre-Arbitration, Free Agent in 2031 Like Smith, Charles McAdoo will likely see most of his playing time in the infield, but he’s shown he’s been able to stand out there in the outfield and play a corner in a pinch. McAdoo has been a nice surprise, from being sent down to the complex league in 2025 to having a resurgence and having some moments in the majors this year. All things equal, he likely starts 2027 in the minors and will have to wait for his turn to come back to the big leagues. Yohendrick Piñango 2026 Stats: .260/.306/.396, 5 HR, 97 wRC+, -0.1 fWAR (58 games played) Contract Status: Pre-Arbitration, Free Agent in 2032 Yohendrick Piñango had his moments early for the 2026 Blue Jays, hitting five home runs and providing a spark at times. Poor outfield defence is the biggest obstacle he needs to overcome, and until that gets better, it's going to be hard to see him be a regular every day outfielder. He’ll likely start the season at Buffalo and offer some corner outfield depth, with the chance to make an impact at some point later in the season. Davis Schneider 2026 Stats: .142/.295/.274, 3 HR, 70 wRC+, -0.3 fWAR (62 games played) Contract Status: Entering Final Pre-Arbitration Season, Free Agent 2031 Davis Schneider’s 2026 season has been quite ugly. After being a fan favourite and having a massive home run in the 2025 World Series, he’s been up and down between Toronto and Buffalo and hasn’t gotten it going at the big-league level. 2027 feels like a make-or-break season for the 27-year-old; if he puts together another year like this one, the team may want to use his 40-man roster spot for someone else. More Names To Know Jonatan Clase, RJ Schreck, Rudy Martin Jr., Carter Cunningham, Jake Casey Once the dust settles and the Blue Jays’ season comes to a close, the team will have to take a deep look at its roster and build a team that can compete in 2027. Before any trades or free agent decisions are made, Toronto already has a crowded outfield, with more players than available spots. The same was true coming into the 2026 season, but injuries forced the Blue Jays’ hand and opened the door for players who may not have otherwise gotten an opportunity. Depth across all positions is always a good thing, but it can quickly become a roster crunch when everyone is healthy. With two weeks to go in the regular season, these outfielders are playing for more than just their playoff lives. They’re also playing for a chance to show the Blue Jays that they deserve one of those spots when the 2027 season begins. View full article

George Springer takes some wild swings. There have been several moments over the past month when Springer has loaded up at the plate, taken a big swing, and fallen over or gone down to one knee after coming up empty. But those wild swings aren’t limited to the batter's box; his offensive profile has fluctuated from season to season and month to month. His last three seasons are a perfect example of that. Springer has gone from a player who looked like his skills were declining at a rapid pace to bouncing back and having a career season at age 35, finishing third in the majors in wRC+. Even in his 2026 season, the Blue Jays have seen a bit of both of those players: For most players in baseball history, declining rapidly as they approach their mid-30s has been a sign that the end is closer than we think. Father Time is undefeated, after all. So which George Springer is the real George Springer? First, his 2025 season wasn’t a fluke. It was a true resurgence in every way. He led the team in wRC+, home runs, fWAR, and even stolen bases. He went back to mashing the fastball, and his contributions helped push the Blue Jays all the way back to the World Series. Then 2026 started, and the narrative shifted. Springer started ice cold; he posted a wRC+ of 97 in March/April and then just 75 in May. All the skills that made him look like an elite hitter seemed to have suddenly disappeared: His OPS dropped (.956 →.648) His xwOBA dropped (.404 → .304) His chase rate rose (20.4% → 27.9%) His walks dropped (11.8%→8.6%) and strikeouts rose (18.9%→19.4%) It started to feel like this was the real George Springer, and 2025 was starting to feel like a distant memory, raising concerns about the veteran slugger's performance. There are many reasons a hitter could go into a massive slump: age finally catching up, confidence being shot, issues outside the diamond, or injuries. Many things can affect a person's performance at work, and baseball players are no exception. Springer dealt with a toe injury in April that kept him on the IL for 17 days, which likely explains part of his early-season struggles. He also went on paternity leave on July 1, stepping away from the team for several days as he and his family welcomed their new child. Maybe it comes down to finally being healthy, or maybe it's his newfound dad strength. But George Springer has found his groove again. Since the All-Star break, Springer's stats have soared. His .867 OPS is second on the team. His .376 wOBA is also second on the team. And while the 29.9% chase rate is still high, it's second-best among qualified Blue Jays hitters. The walks have remained roughly the same, but the strikeouts have dropped to 15.2% from 20.1% in the first half. So what exactly has led to the turnaround? The first place to look is his swing decisions. Springer's swing rate has risen in the second half (47.8% to 49.7%). However, he was swinging a lot in April and May when he was struggling (51.1% in both months), so his increased swing rate is not directly correlated with his success. The more likely explanation is that he’s swinging more at pitches over the heart of the plate, and he’s making more contact on those pitches when he does swing: When hitters make contact on pitches at the heart of the zone, they're hitting .346 league-wide, with a .607 slugging percentage and a .403 wOBA. It's generally a good idea to swing more often at pitches over the middle of the plate, and that’s exactly what Springer has been doing lately. Swinging at the pitches you can do more damage with is always a good idea, but quality of contact matters too. You can make all the right decisions, but if you're hitting soft groundballs or routine flyballs, that doesn't help at all. In July, it looked like the resurgence was officially back on. Springer made a change in his approach: he started swinging more at pitches over the heart of the plate, chased pitches out of the zone less, and had his best month in terms of quality of contact: Metric April May June July Heart Swing% 77.1% 80.2% 75.0% 81.7% Heart BIP/Swings 42.6% 50.6% 44.8% 55.2% Chase Swing% 19.0% 15.4% 15.5% 10.5% Avg. Exit Velocity 88.2 87.6 88.8 90.6 Hard-Hit% 42.2% 35.4% 36.8% 48.1% Barrel% 8.9% 7.6% 5.9% 9.3% If Springer had simply posted a 147 wRC+ in July while his underlying metrics looked the same, then it could be dismissed as just a hot month, but almost every indicator of his process improved significantly. His improvement wasn’t isolated to just one statistic. His approach, contact, swing speed, and batted-ball profile all moved in the same direction. It was starting to look like 2025 George Springer was back. In August, the surface-level numbers would back that up: an .858 OPS, a 141 wRC+, nine extra-base hits, and even four stolen bases to boot, but while the results were good, the peripheral data tell a different story. The hard contact, which spiked in July and was key to his 2025 success, took a step back. His bat speed dropped from 74.0 mph down to 72.8, and with it, so did the exit velocity, hard-hit rate, and barrel rate: Pair the lower quality of contact with the fact that he’s been putting the ball on the ground much more often (his GB rate is up from 38.9% to 50.7%), and it doesn't look good for Springer. Softer contact and balls pounded into the dirt don't usually lead to a successful stat line. The key to Springer's success may have less to do with how he’s hitting the ball and more to do with what happens after he makes contact. His BABIP jumped from .280 in July all the way to .373 in August, meaning far more of his batted balls were falling in for hits despite the decline in quality of contact. It was happening against various pitch types, too: Aside from a massive spike in May against off-speed pitches, Springer's BABIP was dramatically higher in August. Given the decline in his quality of contact, the elevated BABIP explains why his surface-level stats remain elevated. There’s more that goes into BABIP than simply balls finding holes. Line drives are harder to catch and typically produce higher BABIPs, but that doesn’t explain Springer’s August spike. His line drive rate jumped to 22.2% in July when his BABIP was .280, before falling back to 15.9% in August when his BABIP soared to .373. So if that’s not it, batted ball distribution may have an answer. But looking at that data, the numbers seem similar there too: July: Pull: 37.0% Straightaway: 42.6% Oppo: 20.4% August: Pull: 39.1% Straightaway: 39.1% Oppo: 21.7% With his spray profile remaining relatively similar, this really feels like Springer’s hot August was being driven disproportionately by BABIP instead of improved contact quality, coming off a July in which his underlying contact numbers really did take a leap forward. That said, this is more about looking forward than looking backward. The Blue Jays are playing winning baseball at the moment and find themselves in the thick of the Wild Card race in the final month of the season. Springer’s August showed that his numbers can stay strong even when the underlying numbers aren’t, but July showed there is still another level to his game. The larger sample still suggests that Springer is more likely to be the player we’ve seen for most of the season than the one who put up a 147 wRC+ in July. But July provided real evidence that his first-half numbers didn’t tell the whole story. The approach changed, the quality of contact improved, and for one month, he looked much more like the hitter who had a career year at age 35. Even if the BABIP remains high, and history suggests his stats will regress to the mean, it doesn’t mean it's going to happen right away. There’s nothing that says regression is going to come for him tomorrow, and at the end of the day, whether a hit is a soft groundball that finds a hole or a 110+ mph rocket of a line drive, they’re essentially the same thing in the scorebook. So even if the stat line (and the swings) still look wild at times, Springer’s bat is helping the Blue Jays win games right now, at a time the team needs it most. For a team fighting for its playoff life, that's all that matters. This article was written prior to the Blue Jays' game on Friday, September 4. View full article

The Blue Jays minor league pitching system underwent plenty of change in August. Several players who impressed early in the season have moved up the farm system, while Toronto’s trade deadline acquisitions got their first look in the organization. With the major league pitching staff also taking a step forward this month, there were plenty of performances worth highlighting throughout the system. Here are the Jays Centre Minor League pitchers of the month for August. Blue Jays Minor League Pitchers of the Month - Honorable Mentions Josh Winckowski - Single-A Dunedin Stats in August: 3.1 IP, 2.70 ERA, 3 H, 3 BB, 3 K Winckowski made his long-awaited return to affiliated baseball after undergoing internal brace surgery in 2025. Winckowski, a former 15th-round pick of the Blue Jays, spent four years pitching in the big leagues with the Red Sox and has been brought back to Toronto on a minor league deal while he recovers from surgery. His performance on the mound hasn’t been anything special as of yet, but the fact he’s back throwing professional pitches again is worth celebrating in itself. Gage Stanifer - Double-A New Hampshire - Jays Centre's No. 10 Prospect Stats in August: 14.0 IP, 3.86 ERA, 34.9 K%, 20.6 BB% August was a unique month for Stanifer, as the Blue Jays decided to move him from starter to bullpen. The move was partly innings-related, but also an audition for a late-inning MLB bullpen role. The walks remain an issue with Stanifer, but he has the ability to miss bats, including striking out six of the ten batters he faced in the final appearance of the month. Whether or not he returns to starting again in 2027 remains to be seen, but Stanifer still has the ability to rack up strikeouts, and there is a chance his stuff will play up with a move to the bullpen. All eyes will be on Stanifer to see how the transition plays out as he moves into the bullpen for the rest of the season. Dasan Hill - High-A Vancouver - Jays Centre's No. 7 Prospect Stats in August: 13.1 IP, 4.05 ERA, 29.3 K%, 10.3 BB% The Blue Jays got their first look at Hill in the system after coming over from the Twins at the trade deadline in the Jeff Hoffman trade. Through four appearances, Hill has had two excellent outings (4.0 IP, 0 ER and 4.2IP, 0 ER) and two rougher ones (2.0 IP, 2 ER and 2.2 IP, 4 ER). The results have been inconsistent, but the command has shown encouraging signs. Hill has allowed just one or fewer walks in two of his four appearances with the Canadians, something he did only five times in his 16 starts this season with the Twins org. He remains one of the most intriguing arms in the Blue Jays farm system, and improved command could be a key factor in his development going forward. Ricky Tiedemann - Triple-A Buffalo/MLB Toronto - Jays Centre's No. 11 Prospect Minor League Stats in August: 8.0 IP, 4.50 ERA, 27.8 K%, 11.1 BB% Since Tiedemann has made his return to the organization after his injuries, he’s been predominantly in relief, and the left-hander has found success. His last four minor league outings have all been scoreless, and he was rewarded with his big-league debut earlier in the month. Whether Tiedemann can still be the frontline starter many once envisioned remains to be seen, but he’s still been able to provide value for the club while he builds his way back from his injuries. He’s currently on the 40-man roster and likely will get another look in the big leagues shortly, especially if he keeps putting up zeros in Buffalo. Daniel Guerra - High-A Dunedin/Triple-A Buffalo Stats in August: 9.0 IP, 4.00 ERA, 42.1 K%, 10.5 BB% No Blue Jays pitching prospect has moved faster through the system in August than Guerra. Jumping two levels of the minors this quickly means the Blue Jays are taking notice, and for good reason. Had he had enough innings to qualify, his 42.1K% would have led all Blue Jays pitchers in that department. He’s run into some home run problems early on in Buffalo, but the strikeouts remain incredibly high. If he keeps up the pace he’s on, there’s a real chance we see him in the majors as early as next season. No. 3. Johnny King High-A Vancouver/Double-A New Hampshire Stats in August: 21.0 IP, 3.00 ERA, 28.6 K%, 15.0 BB% Jays Centre's No. 1 Prospect Johnny King is still one of the most intriguing prospects in the system; the 20-year-old left-hander just received the bump up to Double A and has had mixed results. His AA debut featured a five-walk, two-earned-run start over four innings. His next two have been better, with one and three walks combined over allowing just one earned run during that time. King still has some of the best stuff in the system, and he’ll need to get better at putting the ball in the zone consistently to take the next step in his development No. 2 Brandon Barriera Single-A Dunedin/High-A Vancouver Stats in August: 15.0 IP, 3.00 ERA, 27.7 K%, 16.9 BB% This past month has been the best month Brandon Barriera has had in professional baseball. Injuries have plagued the former first-round pick. But at the moment he’s healthy. He fired 13.1 consecutive scoreless innings this month, earning a call-up to High-A Vancouver; while his debut there was shaky (3H, 3BB, 5 ER over 1.1IP), his larger body of work has shown the Blue Jays why he was a first-round pick back in 2022. He’ll be an interesting name to follow the rest of the minor league season. No. 1. Brendan Cellucci Triple-A Buffalo Stats in August: 10.2 IP, 0.84 ERA, 40.5 K%, 5.4 BB% What Brendan Cellucci has done down in Buffalo this month has been nothing short of spectacular. The left-handed-throwing 28-year-old career minor leaguer is in the middle of his best stretch of organized baseball. He’s allowed just one earned run on the month (a solo HR) and otherwise has been dominant. Out of the 37 batters he’s faced this month, he’s struck out 15 of them and only seven have reached base. He’s a three-pitch pitcher (fastball/curveball/splitter) who historically had command issues, but he appears to have made a significant improvement in that department lately. Cellucci was added to the 40-man roster earlier this month, and although he was called up, he has yet to get into a game. With Mason Fluharty and Brendon Little the only left-handers on the depth chart ahead of him, if the Blue Jays are in need of another left-handed reliever, don’t be surprised if he’s the one who gets the call to make his big-league debut later this month. View full article

Sometimes, the injury bug just hits one team harder than others. This year, it's the Toronto Blue Jays. Shane Bieber is the latest player to hit the injured list, as he has been placed on the 15-day IL with right teres major inflammation, retroactive to August 21. Chad Dallas was recalled to replace him. According to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet, Bieber felt the issue in his bullpen session on Sunday, and John Schneider described the injury as mild to moderate. He will not throw for two weeks, with no timetable beyond that. Even though his season is not officially over, the Blue Jays only have 30 games remaining, and two weeks without throwing leaves Bieber with very little time to build back up before the end of the regular season. For Bieber and the team, this comes at an inopportune time; Bieber had been pitching his best baseball lately. After struggling during his first few starts off the IL, Bieber looked much better in his last seven games, pitching to a 3.08 ERA with a FIP that supported it. The highlight was his most recent start against the Rays, in which he went seven innings, threw over 100 pitches, and struck out a season-high seven batters. Bieber originally returned to Toronto after picking up his $16 million player option in the offseason, but after he began the season on the IL with elbow inflammation, injuries found him again. He’ll end up with only 11 starts for the Jays in 2026, barring a late-season comeback. The timing is also unfortunate for Bieber, who is set to become a free agent at the end of the season. After missing the majority of the 2024 campaign and a large portion of 2025 recovering from Tommy John surgery, he’s now battled both shoulder and elbow injuries in 2026. That will add another layer of uncertainty for teams interested in signing Bieber for 2027. Bieber's injury further muddles an already complicated pitching puzzle. Like Bieber, Trey Yesavage began the season on the IL, then returned to the Jays, and now he's back on the list. Patrick Corbin, who had made 15 starts for the team, is also out with a shoulder injury. Yimi García, Cody Ponce, and José Berríos, who were all supposed to play an important role in the pitching puzzle, have combined to throw less than three innings all season. Spencer Arrighetti is stretching out after returning from the IL last week, while Jameson Taillon and Joe Mantiply are still working their way back. The extent of the Blue Jays' pitching problems becomes even clearer when looking at Baseball Prospectus’s injury data. From a WARP perspective (Baseball Prospectus’s version of WAR), no team in baseball has lost more projected value due to injuries than the Toronto Blue Jays. Kevin Gausman and Eric Lauer have both been traded, and even some of the Blue Jays' pitching depth lower down the chart has taken a hit. Jake Bloss, who came from the Astros at the 2024 deadline, was eventually supposed to be a key part of this rotation, as was Bowden Francis, who would have had a very real opportunity to show what he could do in 2026. Instead, injuries have kept both pitchers off a major league mound all season. For now, the Blue Jays will start a bullpen game today against the Royals to fill Bieber's initial turn in the rotation, and as long as Arrighetti and Taillon return without setbacks, they’ll rejoin the starting five. That will leave the team with a rotation of: Dylan Cease José Soriano Max Scherzer Spencer Arrighetti Jameson Taillon Surprisingly, Scherzer is now the longest-tenured Blue Jay of the group. The injury comes at a rough time, as the Blue Jays find themselves thick in the AL Wild Card race, and any chance they have at making the playoffs relies on them playing competitive baseball down the stretch. Their remaining schedule is full of teams they are directly competing with in the standings, and the rest of their opponents are below .500, meaning if the Blue Jays can keep winning games, they have a chance to get into the playoffs. FanGraphs has their playoff odds at 10.4%. For Shane Bieber, it's back to the rest-and-rehab process, something he’s been getting all too familiar with. Unfortunately for the Blue Jays, they’ll have to find a new way to piece together their pitching puzzle, which is no new challenge for them either. It's been a season of trying and making rapid adjustments on the fly, and with Bieber's latest injury, the Blue Jays will be forced to make another one of those adjustments, this time with their playoff chances hanging in the balance. View full article

John Schneider, it's time to get out the step counter. The Blue Jays have made a ridiculous number of pitching changes this year. Coming into the homestand, the Blue Jays have made 489 pitching changes this season and are on pace to challenge the 2019 franchise record of 591. After digging through play logs and adding up the numbers, I found that 161 of those 489 (32.9%) pitching changes have involved Schneider coming to the mound and taking the ball from his pitcher. That's a lot of walking for Schneider. There’s no exact way to measure this, as every ballpark is different, and Schneider doesn't take the same pace out to the mound every time, but the average adult male travels roughly 2.5 feet/step, and the distance to the pitcher's mound from the dugout is roughly 90-105 ft, so it should take him anywhere from 35-50 steps to get to the mound. Using rough math, if we take the average of 40 steps to get to the mound, then another 40 back to the dugout, then multiply that by the 161 times he’s made that trip, he’s walked roughly 12,880 steps just in pitching changes on the season to date. (Technically, DeMarlo Hale made a few of those pitching changes instead of Schneider, but let's not exclude those steps from the count. After all, Hale was taking those steps in Schneider's shoes, so to speak.) For reference, those 12,880 steps are roughly 9.8 km. The Blue Jays website says the Rogers Centre has a diameter of 700 ft; multiply that by pi, and the circumference is just under 2,200 ft. Meaning Schneider has walked around Rogers Centre 14.6 times in pitching changes alone this year! At this rate, his next contract should probably include a footwear allowance. This certainly wasn’t part of the plan coming into the season. The Blue Jays pitching staff has been tested to the limit so far in 2026. Coming into spring training, the team looked like it had too many pitchers for too few spots; injuries and poor play tested its pitching depth early. The same happened after the trade deadline. The Jays were tentatively set to go to a six-man rotation, but after injuries to Jameson Taillon and Trey Yesavage (and now Shane Bieber), the team found itself churning through pitchers yet again. All in all, the Blue Jays have had 37 different players take the mound at some point this season; that's the most in the AL, and just two behind the Cubs for most in baseball (as of games on August 24). No team has made more appearances out of the bullpen than the Blue Jays, while they also rank among MLB’s top five in bullpen innings. This isn’t just a story of John Schneider getting his steps in; it points to a bigger picture of how the Blue Jays have used their pitchers to get to this point in the season. Injuries have played their part, but the Blue Jays have also struggled to get their starters deep into games. According to Baseball-Reference, here’s the leaderboard for average innings per start by team: 1. Seattle Mariners - 5.7 2. Cleveland Guardians - 5.5 3. Los Angeles Dodgers - 5.5 . . . 27. Toronto Blue Jays - 4.7 28. San Diego Padres - 4.6 29. Washington Nationals - 4.4 30. Chicago White Sox - 4.3 * League Average is 5.1 The Blue Jays find themselves in the bottom five of the league, and that's despite Dylan Cease ranking second in the AL with 6.0 innings pitched per start. When their starters give them length, the Blue Jays win less often than league average; when they don’t, the team has actually outperformed the league. The MLB average winning percentage when a starter throws six or more innings is .649, and the Blue Jays are 25-18 (.581) in those games this season. However, the Blue Jays have found a way to get more wins than average when their starters do not give them six innings in a start. MLB average is a .411 winning percentage, while the Blue Jays sit at 39-50 in those games with a .438 winning percentage. This raises a bigger question: Was this actually part of the Blue Jays' pitching strategy? Or was this something they were forced into? The real answer is it’s likely a bit of both. Schneider has proven to be capable at managing bullpen games, but that doesn't mean bullpen games were ever the plan. Coming into the season, the Blue Jays appeared to have plenty of pitching depth. The team wasn’t expecting to build its rotation out of bullpen games, or several four- or five-inning starts. Cody Ponce was supposed to make more than just one start; Trey Yesavage and Shane Bieber weren't expected to miss so much time; and the Jays certainly weren’t planning on trading Eric Lauer or Kevin Gausman coming into the year. That’s what makes Schneider's usage practices so interesting. This isn’t a manager who decided five-and-dive is enough from his starters; it's a manager who is trying to figure out how he can get the most out of the pitchers he has. That's worked surprisingly well so far. Blue Jays pitchers have collectively posted a 3.79 ERA on the season, and they’ve managed to outperform the league when their starter throws fewer than six innings. But there is a difference between surviving heavy bullpen usage and building a sustainable pitching strategy around it. Over the past decade, only a small handful of teams have been able to make the playoffs while ranking in MLB’s top five teams in batters faced by relievers. This is where the Blue Jays currently find themselves 2025 - Dodgers 2024 - Dodgers, Tigers 2023 - None 2022 - None 2021 - Rays 2020 - COVID Season* 2019 - Rays 2018 - Athletics 2017 - None 2016 - None In other words, it's not impossible, but the odds are certainly stacked against them. The Rays were among the first teams to use “the opener” and originally had success with it. The Dodgers are a recent example, but keep in mind the 2025 Dodgers struggled mightily with their bullpen; they used 40 different pitchers during the season, and 18 of them produced a negative bWAR. It wasn't until the postseason, when they moved some starters to the bullpen, that they found success. Historically, it's been hard to have success with a team that relies on its bullpen as much as the Blue Jays have in 2026. With all this being said, the Blue Jays still find themselves with a chance at playoff contention. The team has 30 games left, and the schedule does soften up, as the Jays play several games against teams below .500 and games against teams competing directly with them for the AL Wild Card spot. If the Jays want to get into the postseason, relying on John Schneider's legs can’t remain a part of the pitching plan. Eventually, the team will need more stability from its starting pitchers so it can turn its bullpen into a weapon instead of relying on it every night. Until then, Schneider might want to keep that step counter running; his laps around the Rogers Centre aren’t necessarily over yet. View full article

It always come back to Vlad.

The Toronto Blue Jays have claimed right-handed pitcher Paul Sewald, who was designated for assignment by the Diamondbacks earlier in the week. Sewald, a veteran of 10 MLB seasons, has a 6.23 ERA this season. He has 110 major league saves in his career. The righty will join a Blue Jays bullpen that has thrown more innings as a unit than any team in baseball since August 1 and is in need of reinforcements. Sewald is primarily a fastball-slider pitcher. He had a 3.18 ERA entering June 23rd but has allowed 17 earned runs in 14 innings since then. He now gives John Schneider another veteran option with major league experience in the back end of the bullpen. View full rumor