Mike LeSage

On May 30, 2026, the Blue Jays played a game we’d all prefer to forget. Giving up five runs to the Orioles in the ninth inning and getting walked off at Camden Yards has a real ‘on to the next one’ feel to it. I’m content to forget the majority of that game too, but there is one play that I can’t get out of my mind. In the bottom of the fourth inning with Trey Yesavage having loaded the bases and the Jays clinging to a 2-1 lead, Jeremiah Jackson hit a chopper up the third base line. Kazuma Okamoto charged the ball, subtly adjusted his stride and got his right foot to the bag before the ball arrived. The momentum of his charge carried him forward, but he kept his foot on the bag, secured the ball and recorded the force out at third. Okamoto continued another stride towards home, adjusted his body and made a cross-diamond throw to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at first to get Jackson by a stride and a half and turn the 5-3 double play. The play at third was so smooth and fluid that it wasn’t immediately clear that Big Oak had garnered the out at his base. The replay was clear and definitive. My initial reaction when seeing that play was that I had just witnessed one of the greatest double plays of all time. I’ve since softened that stance, but I still can’t stop thinking about the play. Impressiveness of defensive plays can be subjective. We’ve talked about the defensive wizardry of guys like Daulton Varsho and Ernie Clement around here a few times. They often make the hardest plays look routine, and while their surehandedness is definitely appreciated by the pitching staff, it doesn’t always make the highlight reels or bring the fans out of their seats. This Okamoto play didn’t move our managing editor, Leo Morgenstern, the same way, and it was left off of his list of the best defensive plays in May. Addison Barger’s 9-2 double play was pretty sweet in its own right (injury aside). Similarly, when you picture a double play, the first instinct is almost never the 5-3. I took a sample of DiamondCentric writers, and none had the 5-3 as their first thought. In fact, only Ryan Salvaggio from Talk Sox included a third baseman at all, opting for the around-the-horn 5-4-3. Up to July 23, there were 433 double plays league-wide that started with the third basemen. That’s just under 20% of the league’s total double plays. Of those 433 double plays starting at third, only 54 went 5-3 (2.5% of league DPs). I’m going to eliminate the DPs that start with a lineout to third and end with catching a runner off their base. Those are fun, and Okamoto has a great one of those from earlier this season too, but they feel spiritually different from getting to your bag and firing a cross-field throw. That play from Okamoto was made in May, and I’m still thinking about it as we near the end of July. That’s gotta count for something. With this being the Jays' 50th season and so much of the talk of the team being centered around that, I’ve gotten into the habit of viewing Toronto’s accomplishments through that lens as well. Where does this Okamoto play stand in the history of 5-3 double plays by Toronto? The two 5-3 plays by Okamoto that I’ve already referenced are the only two the Jays have turned this season, so by default, Oak has the best one of 2026 (so far). In the history of the franchise, the Jays have turned 151 total, and I am entering into this exercise with the assumption that none are going to top May 30, 2026. Kelly Gruber (1990) and Matt Chapman (2023) are the only Toronto players to win a Gold Glove at the hot corner. They might be the top candidates to look at. Scott Rolen won eight Gold Gloves before arriving in Toronto and made just over 200 starts at third base with the Jays. By virtue of all his appearances, no one had more opportunities than Gruber; his 846 games at third are the franchise high. Rance Mulliniks is the sole third baseman with over 1,000 total appearances for the franchise, though *only* 731 were at third base. If you’re looking for a dark horse, he might be the one. I’m going to make a confession here. I was born before the Jays had their first winning season, but I have been spoiled by modern conveniences. I severely underestimated the difficulty I would have in tracking down specific plays from the early days of this franchise. I can tell you with a fair degree of certainty that the first 5-3 double play in Jays history was turned in the bottom of the second inning in the Jays' 11th game. It was a line drive double play caught by Dave McKay and completed by Doug Ault, but I can’t find a video of it. The recap in the next day’s Toronto Star makes no mention of it, instead choosing to focus on the complete game, four-hit win by Dave Lemanczyk. Fair enough. That’s not even the type of 5-3 DP I’m looking for. The first 5-3 groundball double play happened on June 18 of the inaugural season in the franchise’s 60th game. This time Roy Howell was at the hot corner, and Ron Fairly was across the diamond. I can’t tell you much more than that because again, I can’t find any video or mention of it in a recap. I’m going to have to alter the scope of this project and will unfortunately be shortchanging Okamoto in the process. The exercise now becomes ‘finding the best 5-3 double play of the replay era’. A disappointment to be sure. Another historic 5-3 DP thankfully does have some video available. This is the first one to end a game. On July 29, 1988, with Gruber at third, Fred McGriff at first and Duane Ward on the mound, the 42,000+ fans at Exhibition Stadium witnessed history that most probably never realized. As for the play itself, it’s a nice pick from Gruber and an absolute cannon across the diamond to McGriff, but it lacks the grace of Okamoto’s play. In a game on June 7, 1995, the Jays would make 5-3 history again. This game would mark the first time Toronto would turn two 5-3 double plays in the same game. One of them is documented here and shows Ed Sprague fielding and throwing to John Olerud at first. They would turn another one the very next inning, but SportsCentre did not deem that one worthy of a highlight, so we are forced to assume it was less impressive. There is only one other game where the Jays recorded two 5-3 groundball double plays: April 6, 2021, with Cavan Biggio on the hot corner and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at first. The first one was pretty smooth. A nice charging grab, a toe-tap on the base and a quick throw across to catch Nick Solak at first. The second one was… an affront to modern baseball. Or at least made to look ridiculous with the hindsight of the defensive shift rules and how we notate baseball plays. While this was ‘technically’ a 5-3 DP, Biggio was lined up in the hole between first and second base with Jonah Heim hitting directly into the shift. This shouldn’t count, and for those 5-3 purists out there (it might only be me at this point), we can’t claim this regardless of what the official record states. I also can’t state it with absolute certainty, but it appears that Guerrero is the only Blue Jay to feature on both sides of a 5-3 double play, having turned one himself from the other side of the diamond. That play isn’t the last time we’ll be talking about Biggio here, though. Over six seasons in Toronto, Biggio made 453 defensive appearances. Eighty of those were at third base. Thanks to Immaculate Grid, I know Biggio made appearances at every position except catcher and pitcher, but when I remember him I think of him as a second baseman and occasional outfielder. That doesn’t mean he was incapable of greatness at third, just that it was less likely. In five out of Biggio’s six seasons in Toronto, he posted a negative score for fielding run value, almost entirely due to his lack of range (his +5 FRV in 2022 may require a separate deep dive). The beautiful thing about highlight reel plays is that they can exist in a vacuum. Every pitch, every ball in play has the potential for greatness. That’s a big reason why we buy tickets and watch the games. Even when the team is playing poorly and the results aren’t there, greatness can happen on the next pitch… September 11, 2023, top of the fifth inning, Texas at Toronto. You might remember that I mentioned Matt Chapman won the Gold Glove at third base in 2023. He was one of the favourites to occupy this space. On this day, however, Chapman found himself on the 10-day IL with a finger sprain – the only IL stint of his time in Toronto. During Chapman’s recovery, Biggio made nine appearances at third. None of those nine appearances included a full game at the position. Biggio was either brought in as a pinch-hitter, moved elsewhere on the field or removed from the game to be pinch-hit for every time – true to his utility form. In that fifth inning, though, Biggio found himself at third. Chris Bassitt started the inning off with a walk and a single to the bottom of the Rangers' order. That brought former Jay Marcus Semien to the plate with runners on the corners and none out. In a 1-2 count, Bassitt jammed Semien with a sinker inside. Semien turned on it and hit a chopper up the third base line right towards the waiting Biggio. Now-Blue Jay Josh Smith, who was on third, was caught too far from the base and attempted a dive back to safety, but Biggio was too quick. Having collected the ball, Biggio was already charging towards Smith. The bases weren’t loaded, so there was no force play, but Biggio’s path led him to step on third just for good measure. Smith attempted a shimmy away from the out, but Biggio put the leather to Smith for the tag and got the throw across the diamond to Vladdy to retire Semien and give the Jays a +13% swing in win probability. With apologies to Okamoto, I’ve got to put him in second place. Against the odds, Cavan Biggio turned the best 5-3 double play I’ve ever seen a Blue Jay make. In the moment, Buck Martinez called it “one of the most heads-up plays you’ll ever see.” In his postgame remarks, John Schneider called it “a great play from Cav” and touted his ability to make plays like that. I’m taking it a step further and calling it the greatest play (of that type) in Blue Jays history.

July was set up to be the defining month of this Jays season. With the trade deadline looming on the horizon and the future of the roster in doubt, every player's performance might have had far-reaching ramifications for the future of the club. With one eye on the month of July and one looking ahead, we celebrate all that the month had to offer. Honourable Mentions Myles Straw July Stats: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER Only two players made it through July without getting tagged with an earned run, and Straw pitched more innings, so he gets the mention (apologies to Chad Dallas). You never want your team to be in position to be running a position player out to the mound, but all things considered, we can’t complain about the work Straw put in while there. Kevin Gausman July Stats: 20.2 IP, 23 H, 14ER, 11 BB, 23K, 2.47 FIP, 0.7 fWAR Gausman’s July was a whirlwind of trade discussion and distraction. This is a monthly award, but I feel some full-season recognition is due. With all the injuries the Blue Jays pitching staff has endured this year, Gausman has been the steadying hand. He has started more games and thrown more innings than anyone in Toronto this year. July wasn’t Gaus’ flashiest month, but he made his starts and put up the second-highest fWAR of anyone on the staff. He also threw the second-most innings of any Jay this month and was the only starter not to give up a home run. Gausman is pitching for Chicago now, but this won’t be the last time I (and others) are writing about him. Shane Bieber July Stats: 22.1 IP, 19 H, 14 ER, 14 BB, 16 K Bieber's first and last starts of the month were not worth writing about, but the ones in between were a reminder of what he can look like at his best. In his two home starts, he scattered three hits apiece and only gave up one run total. The bats barely put enough runs up to register the wins, so Bieber had to be as sharp as ever. Hoffman/Rogers July Combined Stats: 19.2 IP, 12 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 22 K, 0.7 fWAR I’m putting Jeff Hoffman and Tyler Rogers together here because they both had similarly strong months out of the ‘pen. They both kept the ball in the yard (0 HR) and limited damage (1.37 ERA), combining for nine holds and 21 appearances. No. 3. Spencer Miles July Stats: 21 IP, 21 H, 8 ER, 4 BB, 19 K, 2.48 FIP, 0.5 fWAR Spencer Miles has stepped into the swingman role that Eric Lauer handled last year. Propelled by his results, Lauer made a few PotM appearances, and Miles is following suit. In July, he made two starts, with one tough outing against the White Sox accounting for 75% of his earned runs for the month. Out of the ‘pen, he was lights out: 0 ER, 3 BB, 13 K. No. 2. Louis Varland July Stats: 10 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K, 7 SV The streak ends at three. Until now, Louis Varland had been our PotM each month so far this season. In July, he made his first All-Star appearance and went 7-for-7 in save attempts. He only gave up one run in the month (and still got the save) and is easily the guy out of the bullpen that inspires the most calm amongst fans. His most impressive performance would be the two-inning save against the Nationals in which he navigated the eighth and ninth and only threw 20 pitches. Efficient, in control, unshakable. No. 1. Dylan Cease July Stats: 36 IP, 15 H, 4 ER, 11 BB, 46 K, 2.18 FIP, 1.4 fWAR Almost 12 innings pitched, a pair of quality starts and 16 Ks. That line would be enough to get a pitcher an honourable mention here. In this case, it represents the gulf between what Dylan Cease did this month and the second-most by a Jays pitcher. Cease picked up his first win of the month when he went seven scoreless innings against Seattle, striking out nine against three hits and a walk in what was arguably the best start by any Blue Jays pitcher to that point in the season. By the end of the month, it would barely warrant mentioning. Heading into the All-Star break and facing San Francisco, Cease would take a no-hitter into the 9th inning, notch 11 Ks (his sixth time with 10+ strikeouts this season), and this still wasn’t his best performance of the month! Cease earned the start in the Midsummer Classic and tacked on a bonus inning and 3 Ks to his month, getting three swinging strikeouts against the top of the NL roster. On the road in Boston, Cease continued his dominant month with a masterpiece. Pitching a no-hitter through five innings on the way to a complete game, one-hit shutout. His 12 Ks tied his season high, and taken as a whole, this represented one of the most impressive pitching performances in Blue Jays history. His Game Score of 94 is the sixth highest ever by a Toronto pitcher. The high-water mark of 100 belongs to Brandon Morrow in 2010, which was the last time a Toronto pitcher threw a one-hit shutout. Cease became the 10th Jay to perform the feat, and combined with his almost no-no, joined Nolan Ryan as the only pitchers of the modern era to go 8+ innings, allow one hit or fewer, and strike out 10+ batters in back-to-back road starts. He’s not just our pitcher of the month, he’s MLB’s too:

One-time closer Jeff Hoffman has been traded to the Minnesota Twins, as reported by Jeff Passan. The return for Toronto is reported to be Dasan Hill, John Klein and Dameury Pena. Last year's trade that sent Louis Varland to Toronto and Hoffman's loss of ninth-inning duties made him expendable. Hoffman signed a three-year, $33 million deal with the Jays ahead of the 2025 season and became their de facto closer, racking up 33 regular season saves and another pair in the playoffs, including the Game 7 ALCS clincher. His accumulation of blown saves and 15 homers surrendered, along with the World Series Game 7 blown save, took a lot of the shine off of Hoffman (to put it mildly). The rise of Varland to ninth-inning duties (plus the addition of Tyler Rogers) pushed Hoffman into lower-leverage situations where he performed much better. His cost and diminished role (with improved results) made him an expendable piece. The Twins will be taking on the remainder of Hoffman's '26 salary, but the Jays have agreed to pay a portion of his '27 earnings. The highlight of the package coming to Toronto is Hill. The lefty was ranked as the Twins' No. 7 prospect by MLB Pipeline. He is a 'hard thrower with serious upside,' according to Keegan Matheson of MLB.com. Righty Klein is ranked No. 17 by MLB Pipeline, and for those following along with the live chat on DiamondCentric's YouTube channel, Pena is highly thought of as well. In keeping with the shades of last year's Varland trade, Klein is also a Minnesota native. Our sister site Twins Daily's Prospect Rankings had Hill ranked No. 9, with Klein and Pena outside of the organization's top 20. From their scouting report on Hill: Certainly sounds like someone for fans of the Jays' minor league systems to salivate over while he builds himself into roster contention.

Jeff Passan is reporting that the Houston Astros have acquired Daulton Varsho. The Blue Jays center fielder is set to become a free agent at the end of the season, but the potential of a qualifying offer made his trade availability uncertain. The return for the Jays is reportedly right-hander Spencer Arrighetti. Varsho was worth 11.9 bWAR (8.4 fWAR) over four seasons in Toronto. His steady presence in center field only garnered one Gold Glove, but he arguably deserved at least one more. He came to the Jays ahead of the 2023 season in a trade that sent Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Gabriel Moreno to Arizona. That trade signified a move towards a defense-first outfield and a shift in team-building philosophy. In 2025, Varsho put up a 123 wRC+ (his only Toronto season over 100) and was one of the catalysts propelling the Jays on their postseason run. The 26-year-old Arrighetti has started 17 games for the Astros this season, posting a 7-5 record over 88 innings. His 4.60 ERA and 5.07 FIP line up with 87 Ks against 50 BBs. He is currently on the 15-day IL with nerve irritation in his right foot. He hit the IL twice last season with a broken thumb early in the year and right elbow inflammation, limiting him to just 35.1 IP. In 2024, he threw 145 innings and notched 171 strikeouts. Arrighetti has club control until at least the end of the 2029 season with options remaining, per Keegan Matheson of MLB.com. The Blue Jays are beginning a series in Houston tonight (first pitch 8:10 pm ET), and there are multiple reports that the Astros are hoping to have Varsho in their lineup for this evening's game. Shane Bieber is Toronto's projected starter, but with just over an hour to the deadline, that could change.

Any other day, the story would be about Vladimir Guerrero Jr. breaking his home run drought and the Jays offense breaking open for 10 runs. Just the fifth time this season they’ve notched double digits and the first time since May 9. Kazuma Okamoto’s grand slam, George Springer going back-to-back with Vladdy (just the second time the Jays have done that all season), the power of the stuffed dragon, Daulton Varsho putting his body on the line in center. All of that ended up being secondary; it was the Dylan Cease show in San Francisco. Cease was perfect through four innings, striking out six to that point before issuing a walk to Willy Adames with two outs in the fifth. A swinging strikeout of the next batter, Bryce Eldridge, would end the inning and keep the no-hit bid alive. The sixth inning started with a leadoff walk, followed by another pair of Ks and an easy groundout. The seventh inning looks like a smooth one on paper, but Jung Hoo Lee’s nine-pitch AB was a grind ending in a flyout, and Ernie Clement had to make a nifty play on the final out of the inning to keep the Giants hitless. Eldridge led off the eighth and hit a ball to deep center field. The ball had an xBA of .770, but xBA doesn’t account for Varsho being an absolute maniac. With a lot of fielders, you might think they gave it a little extra to preserve the chance of a no-hitter. Varsho, I think, makes this play even if the Jays are down 10 runs. Crashing into the wall motivates him. It certainly seemed to motivate Cease too, who reached back to strike out the next two batters and put him three outs away from history. On the third pitch to the leadoff batter, Cease’s 118th of the day, Heliot Ramos drove a sinker into center to break up the no-hitter. Ramos’ hit had an xBA of .880, the highest of any Giant on the day, so this wasn’t a case of bad luck necessarily, just bad timing. Cease would be lifted from the game and would exit to a standing ovation. Tyler Rodgers finished it off with four pitches, and that was that. Cease’s final line: 8 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 11 K. Cease’s game score of 88 is the best of any Jays starter this season, eclipsing his own previous high-water mark of 79 just last week against Seattle. In fact, Cease has six of the top 10 starts by game score for Toronto this season. This outing also marks the 10th time this season that Cease has thrown 100 or more pitches, with 118 setting a new career high. Dave Stieb is, of course, the first Blue Jay we think of when we talk about coming close to a no-hitter. Stieb, famously, took three no-hit bids to within an out of immortality before finally getting it done on Sept 2, 1990. He remains the only Blue Jay to ever achieve the feat. Toronto has the second longest active no-hitter drought, with only the Cleveland Guardians waiting longer (Len Barker in 1981). Brandon Morrow in 2010 came within an out of the no-no and struck out 17 on his way in one of the most impressive starts in Blue Jays history. Morrow’s game score of 100 is the Jays’ all-time best. Bowden Francis went into the ninth inning twice in 2024 before surrendering his first hit to the leadoff batter in both games. Marco Estrada took a perfect game into the eighth inning in 2015 (game score of 90), but his pitch count (129) and the game condition (Jays would win in the 12th inning) were against him. Then, of course, there was Roy Halladay’s second ever start. On Sept 27, 1998, Doc took a no-hitter into the ninth inning before losing it and the shutout (he still got the complete game) on a solo home run to Bobby Higginson. Doc’s game score of 89 was just one point better than Cease’s yesterday. Halladay would memorably go on to record a no-hitter (and a perfect game) with Philadelphia. Cease, in the reverse of Halladay, already has a no-hitter on his resume, having achieved it with the San Diego Padres in 2024. Wednesday marked the third time Cease has entered the ninth inning with no hits, having done it with the White Sox as well. That no-hit attempt was broken up by Luis Arraez, who was standing in the on-deck circle for the Giants yesterday – a fact that was certainly on Cease's mind. After the game, when asked if this start would give him a leg up on securing the starting role in the upcoming All-Star Game, Cease deflected and suggested that Cam Schlittler would be the likely starter. Yet, with John Schneider getting the final call, there may be a case for Cease to join Stieb and Halladay as the only previous Midsummer Classic starters with Toronto.

The 2025 Blue Jays had a season so magical we’re likely to talk about it for a generation. The home stretch and finish of the season is what will stick the most in our memories, while the start of the season might have been mostly forgotten if not for the team seeming to play the same song again this year. Through 36 games in 2025, the Jays were 16-20, a record identical to that of this year’s team six weeks into the season. Last year, they started May with a pair of wins and then dropped four in a row – again, identical to this season. The 2026 Jays have since dug themselves into an even deeper hole. The 2025 team returned to .500 on May 12; right now, Toronto sits at 18-23 heading into play on Tuesday night. The game and the at-bat many credited with turning the team around last season happened towards the end of May. Going into their game on May 28, 2025, the Blue Jays held a 26-28 record and sat third in the AL East. Through eight innings, Toronto had left eight runners on base and was mired in a 0-0 draw with Texas (five Jays pitchers on a bullpen day combined to one-hit the Rangers and keep the game within reach). Ernie Clement led off the ninth inning with a single and was standing on second base with two outs in what looked like a carbon copy of so many failed innings before it. That was, of course, until Bo Bichette, called on as a pinch-hitter for the first time in his career, took an 0-1 pitch, sent it into the front row of the left field bleachers and single-handedly turned the Jays' season around. That might seem like hyperbole, but Jesse Burrill wrote, “You could argue this was the point where everything started for this team.” Manager John Schneider touted that game as the one that flipped the switch and put the Jays on the path they ended up on. They would win nine of their next 10, get above .500 and put themselves in position to take over the division by July. Now, with Bichette gone, where might we find that spark? Cory Sparks looked at how Ernie Clement is doing so far as a Bichette replacement, and while the power profiles are certainly different, Clement has had enough clutch hits that he could come up with the spark that ignites the season. Sam Charles talked about the roster ramifications of Addison Barger’s return, but with that return short-lived, maybe the season will turn around as quickly as Yohendrick Piñango did on his way to Buffalo, and maybe it will be one of the guys that keeps a roster spot that comes up with the magic. It’s early May, and it’s a long season, but if Toronto is going to turn the ship around, that work needs to start this month. Of course, for the flip side, we don’t have to go any further back than the season before the magical ‘25. Through 36 games in 2024, the Jays sported a record of, you guessed it, 16-20. The turning point we’re looking for now never came for that team, and they never got above .500 and would sit fifth in the division from mid-June until game 162. Through some combination of parity, luck and schedule oddities, this year’s Jays team is only one game out of a Wild Card spot. On May 12, 2025, they were two back, and it was five games on the same date in 2024. We seem to be at a crossroads, and the path that is taken from here will make all the difference.

Facing Hunter Feduccia to lead off the fourth inning and throwing a four-seam fastball on a 2-2 pitch, Kevin Gausman notched the 2000th strikeout of his career. Of those 2000, 510 have come in that count. It also marked the 468th time that Gausman had sat down the leadoff hitter of an inning on strikes. Since joining the Blue Jays in 2022, Gausman has recorded 839 of his strikeouts. That total has him sitting seventh all-time with the Jays. Another 105 this season and he’ll catch Jimmy Key for sixth place. Gausman is a free agent at the end of this season, so if he has plans on cracking the top five, he’ll likely need to sign an extension. In 2023, Gausman notched 237 strikeouts, leading the AL and marking the fourth-highest single-season total ever for a Blue Jays pitcher. It was most by a Jays pitcher who didn’t go on to win the Cy Young Award. His 205 Ks in 2022 and 189 Ks in 2025 sit as the eighth and 13th best seasons in franchise history. Gausman was the Opening Day starter for Toronto this season and came out of the gates flying, chalking up 11 strikeouts against a free-swinging Athletics team and setting his high-water mark for the season (so far). He had 10 Ks in his next start, making it the 21st time Gausman notched double-digit strikeouts in a game with Toronto. His career best mark is 13 strikeouts in a game, a feat he achieved twice in Toronto, both in 2023. In one of those games, against Seattle, Gausman struck out Cal Raleigh and Teoscar Hernández three times each (Jordan Romano would face them later in the game and secure golden sombreros for both hitters). After those two starts, Gausman has cooled off some and hasn’t had more than five strikeouts in a game since (he would leave the milestone game with five Ks). In fact, in his last three starts going into the milestone game, he’d had three or fewer Ks, his lowest for a three-game stretch in Toronto. Not since 2014 in Baltimore has Gausman had a three-start stretch with so few strikeouts (he went 3-2-3 then too). Having spent the bulk of his career in the AL East, it should be no surprise that each of the three active players Gausman has struck out the most also spent a chunk of time here. Xander Bogaerts has gone down on strikes against him 13 times, while Trevor Story represents 15 of Gausman’s career Ks. No one is close to Aaron Judge’s 20, though. Just over 1.4% of the time when Judge has struck out in his career, he’s looked at the mound and seen Gausman standing there. Ahead of this season, we had Gausman as the 25th best Blue Jay of all time and the only active pitcher to make the Top 50. If we made a list of the Top 50 Contracts in Blue Jays History, there’s a fair shot that Gausman would have placed even higher. His five-year, $110 million deal was notably $5 million less than the deal Robbie Ray would get on his way out of Toronto. Gausman stepped into that ace role and earned a spot as one of the franchise’s greats. Here’s to 2000 more!

Last year, we looked at nine milestones across four levels of likelihood. Six of them were hit (all of the most likely ones), while the others are now closer to being realized. We also have a few new faces on the squad this year, so let's take a look at who might be putting up some round numbers this season. For the purposes of this article, we will be recognizing the aging curve for players but generally assuming a healthy season. Countdown stats as of Opening Day 2026. From the Mound Max Scherzer - 3500 strikeouts (11 away) Kevin Gausman - 2000 strikeouts (46 away) José Berríos - 1500 strikeouts (19 away) Shane Bieber - 1000 strikeouts (5 away) The four starters on the verge of strikeout milestones should all hit them fairly quickly. Bieber and Berríos have started the season on the IL, but Berríos is already throwing in Dunedin, and Bieber, whose timeline is less clear, has the potential for a May return. Assuming they are healthy enough to make a handful of starts, they’ll hit their marks. Gausman has already come out of the gate flying, knocking his number down to 35, and I don’t think there is anyone that could drag Scherzer away from the field before he gets the 11 Ks he needs. It’s kind of incredible to think that while Gausman sits sixth on the active strikeout list, he would need the entirety of Berríos’ career (16th active) to catch up with Scherzer (2nd active, 64 behind Verlander). Max Scherzer - 3000 innings (37 away) Kevin Gausman - 2000 innings (89 away) Tyler Rogers - 500 games pitched (80 away) Longevity milestones are less exciting, but still worth celebrating. Only 30 pitchers have made it to 3000 innings since 1977, and Scherzer will soon join them. Rogers has led the league in appearances four times in his career already. His career high is 81, and he’s already been called on twice in the Jays’ first two games, so this one is in play too. Ernie, Varsh and The Kirk Alejandro Kirk, Daulton Varsho and Ernie Clement are all within striking distance of a handful of the same milestones. Some should fall early, while others will be a full-season chase. 500 hits (Kirk 11 away, Clement 158 away, Varsho 13 away) 100 doubles (Kirk 18 away, Clement 35 away) 200 runs (Kirk 16 away, Clement 27 away) 300 RBI (Kirk 37 away, Varsho 5 away) 100 home runs (Varsho 1 away) Clement had a career-high 151 hits last season, so he’ll need to improve on that if he wants to hit 500, but after the postseason he had, I wouldn’t bet against him. His 35 doubles last season were also a career high, but with two in the first two games and no threat to his playing time, I think he gets this one too. Kirk has had between 16 and 19 doubles in each of the last four seasons, so he has a good chance too, but we likely don’t need to check in on the doubles count until September. Kirk’s first RBI and run of the season came on Toronto’s first home run of the season. He should hit both milestones easily. The Spokesmen Ahead of the first game of the season, it was Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer that addressed the crowd before unveiling the newest banner to hang in the Rogers Centre. This season they should both surpass their share of round numbers. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. - 200 home runs (17 away) Vladimir Guerrero Jr. - 700 RBI (109 away) Vladimir Guerrero Jr. - 1000 games (25 away) Vladimir Guerrero Jr. - 600 runs (29 away) George Springer - 300 home runs (7 away) George Springer - 1000 runs (18 away) Vladdy is coming up on 1000 games, while Springer is closing down on 1000 runs, and there is a small chance that if things break just right, they hit the marks in the same game. Both players also have a home run milestone coming up. Springer is 15th on the active homers list and could see himself leapfrog a few players this season. Guerrero projects to have close to 100 runs and RBI each season, so he could very well be an annual inclusion for this column. If he hits the 700 RBI mark this season, we’ll truly be celebrating. Round Numbers with Less Celebration Andrés Giménez - 100 HBP (16 away) Nathan Lukes - 100 runs (27 away), 100 RBI (23 away) Giménez has double-digit hit by pitches in each of the last four seasons, including a league-leading 25 back in 2023. Shea Hillenbrand’s franchise record of 22 could be in trouble if Giménez regains that ‘23 form. For Lukes, this would be more of a celebration of him earning and keeping his spot on the team, but 100 of anything at the major league level is nothing to sneer at.

Jays Centre is counting down the top 50 Blue Jays in franchise history. Check out prior entries in the series here: Introduction 50 to 46 45 to 41 40 to 36 35 to 31 30 to 26 25 to 21 20 to 16 15 to 11 10 to 6 5 to 3 Every participating writer had these players as their top two. Not everyone had them in this order, but it was always this pair. There are arguments that can be made for flipping the order, and I made those same arguments myself, but I’m less interested in knocking one of these guys to build the other one up – I just want to celebrate them both. I even considered cheating the process and leaving the top two unranked, but that felt a little underhanded, and I wouldn’t want to deny those that have been following along of the payoff. For full transparency, I submitted my ballot with these two in the order they appear today. If we did it again a year from now, there is no guarantee I wouldn’t flip them; it’s that close. These two pitched in different eras but had a beautifully poetic moment of overlap. It also feels very quintessentially Torontonian that both players were the absolute peak of performance for multiple seasons, but the teams they were surrounded by couldn’t elevate them to allow for some of the playoff heroics we’ve documented with other players on this list. Not to say that these pitchers don’t each have a signature game to point to – in fact, I think one of them is pretty obvious – but with these two, we can talk about a few special moments. No. 2: Dave Stieb 1979-1992, 1998 7x All-Star Franchise All-Time #1: bWAR (56.9), wins (175), innings pitched (2873), strikeouts (1658), games started (408), complete games (103), shutouts (30), quality starts (244) Single Season #1: Innings pitched (288.1), complete games (19), shutouts (5) The Legend of Stieb is almost more outsized than his accomplishments, and considering how many franchise #1 spots he occupies, that’s saying something. He played college ball as an outfielder and was pressed into service as a pitcher when his team was shorthanded. It turned out he was a pretty good pitcher. Drafted by the Jays in June of 1978, he would make his major league debut in June the following year. He would go on to be the best starting pitcher of the 80s and would lead the league in bWAR for three consecutive seasons from ‘82 to ’84. That stretch of dominance hadn’t happened since Lefty Grove in the 1930s. He was selected as an All-Star seven times (more than any other Jay), so within the context of the Toronto team, he was recognized for his performance. A look at the Cy Young voting in his peak years suggests that maybe he was underrated (or unfairly penalized for being on an up-and-coming team) on the larger scale. Similarly, the lack of Cy Youngs – there’s an easy argument for him deserving three (or more) – combined with his delayed eligibility for the Hall of Fame, may have conspired to knock him off of the ballot in his first year, receiving only 1.4% of the vote. Twelve players that shared space on the ballot with Stieb are now in the Hall – we’ll save the debate about how many of them Stieb was better than for another day – but none of them (including two former Jays) are on the Level of Excellence. The Moment(s): If you were going to pick a single game or moment for Stieb, it would have to be the no-hitter. On September 2, 1990, Stieb achieved the feat that no other Blue Jay, before or since, has been able to do. He got his elusive no-hitter. Jon Bois and the good people at Secret Base did an incredible job with their four-part documentary chronicling Stieb’s chase for this accomplishment and the absurd number of times he was *that close* to it before finally getting his white whale. No one in the franchise’s history has as many complete games or as many shutouts as Stieb, and everyone else is tied for second when it comes to no-hitters. The moment I’d like to shine a little light on comes after the no-hitter. That 1990 season marked the final time Stieb would throw 200+ innings in a year. He had averaged 222 innings per season for 12 straight years, so it’s hard to say that injuries cut his career short, but Stieb always felt like a guy who could pitch forever – until he couldn’t. In 1991, he had pitched just under 60 innings through April and May (adding another complete game along the way) until a collision while covering first base led to a back issue requiring surgery and ending his season. In 1992, he would make it almost to 100 innings (one more CG mixed in) before again ending his season prematurely in August. By this time, the chronic back and shoulder issues he was battling were too much to overcome, and after missing out on the ‘92 playoff and World Series run, he was released by Toronto in the offseason. The less said about his 22.1 innings in Chicago, the better. He would return to the organization as a spring training coach in 1998. While throwing and coaching, Stieb noticed that his old injuries weren’t bothering him like they used to and that he was able to pitch again – at age 40. This wasn’t just a ‘franchise great re-signs with former team to announce retirement’ kind of move. Like he did throughout his career, Stieb put in the work. He threw 81 innings in the minors, working himself into a position where he fully deserved the call-up. He would pitch just over 50 innings in the majors, mainly in a relief role, but making three spot starts along the way. Most importantly, it allowed Stieb to retire on his own terms. No. 1: Roy Halladay 1998-2009 6x All-Star, Cy Young, Hall of Famer Franchise All-Time #1: fWAR (48.6), WPA (29.8) Single Season #1: Wins (22), BB/9 (1.08) Roy Halladay would make his debut with the Blue Jays on September 20, 1998. He would start the game and pitch five innings, giving up two earned runs and striking out five. The first line in the box score for the bottom of the sixth inning reads: “Dave Stieb replaces Roy Halladay pitching,” and while that was true for the game, the opposite was happening for the franchise. A week later, Halladay would make his next start and give the most Stieb-like performance possible. A complete game, one-hitter. That one hit came with two outs in the ninth inning and blew up Halladay’s no-hit bid and shutout with one swing. The most poetic part of the whole thing was that the ball landed in the Blue Jays' bullpen and was grabbed by Stieb. “How can you not be romantic about baseball?” doesn’t feel like it cuts it, but it does feel notable that we had both of these pitchers here together, if only for a brief time. Halladay was once described as pitching with “grim determination,” and that was a phrase that always stuck with me. It often felt like he didn’t necessarily want to be pitching, but that he had to be pitching. Again, much like Stieb before him, Halladay hated to give the ball up. Where Stieb has the franchise lead for wins, strikeouts and shutouts, Halladay is the next up. How close he came to never appearing on any of these lists is a hard thing to quantify, but in the 2000 season, he struggled. “Struggled” is really putting it mildly, and a bit of a disservice to every pitcher that has ever struggled to find ‘it’ on the mound. Halladay was bad. Where Stieb’s story is one of almost immediate and lasting greatness, Halladay’s is that of the phoenix rising from the ashes. Gord Ash(es), the Toronto GM at the time, made the call to demote Halladay. Rather than send him to Triple A as would be the usual move, Halladay was sent all the way down the ladder to Single A. By July of 2001, he would work his way back into the big league rotation, having changed his delivery and regained his confidence, ending the ‘01 season with a complete game shutout. The next two seasons, Halladay would lead the league in bWAR, and in 2003, his greatness would be recognized with his first Cy Young Award. From the time Halladay made his debut in 1998 until his departure after the 2009 season, the Blue Jays teams he was a part of only finished better than third in the division one time (a second-place, 10-games-back finish in ‘06). With the likelihood of playoffs on the horizon seemingly dim, Toronto made the difficult decision to trade Halladay, sending him to the Philadelphia Phillies for Travis d'Arnaud, Kyle Drabek and Michael Taylor. This trade felt different than any other I can recall. It was like setting the genie free at the end of Aladdin, or what I imagine parents feel like when their kids move out and start a life on their own. It was a trade made to help the Jays rebuild for the future, sure, but it also gave Halladay something he wasn’t going to get here: postseason baseball. When Halladay went out there and threw a no-hitter in the first postseason start of his career, Toronto fans watched with a mix of pride and sadness. It was a similar mix of pride and sadness when he was posthumously elected into the Hall of Fame in 2019. His addition to the Level of Excellence came the year before, along with the retirement of his No. 32. His legacy lives on throughout the city with Roy Halladay Field in Scarborough, the first fully accessible field in the city. The Moment(s): That second start, the near no-hitter, is certainly one. His final two starts with Toronto were both complete game shutouts and a fitting way to end his tenure with the franchise. The game(s) I’d like to look at, though, came at the end of his Cy Young-winning season in 2003. That September, Halladay made six starts. Five of them were complete games. Two of them were shutouts. You can take your pick of which was most impressive, but for me, it's the 10-inning game against the Tigers. He threw 10 frames, faced 35 batters, gave up only three hits and did it all on 99 pitches to win 1-0 (shoutout to Bobby Kielty for the walkoff). If you want to take the game before, where Halladay struck out 10 Yankees in a complete game win, or the game after, where he only needed 93 pitches in a complete game against Tampa, I wouldn’t quibble with you. You could take the last game of the month too – another complete game win to give Halladay his franchise-record 22nd win. It was the most dominant month by the most dominant pitcher this franchise might ever see.