Sam Charles

When Duane Ward passed away last weekend, baseball lost one of the most dominant relievers of his generation and Canadian baseball lost one of its most dedicated ambassadors. Duane Ward was a good closer, but he was a phenomenal setup man. There aren’t many modern bullpen rosters that mirror the dominance or structure of the Jays in the late eighties and early nineties. The general manager of the Jays at the time, Pat Gillick, acquired Tom Henke from the Rangers as a free agent compensation pick in 1985, and the following year traded pitcher Doyle Alexander to the Braves to acquire Ward. Both pitchers had been starters who had toiled within their respective organizations, seeing some time with the major league squads, but never for a sustained period. Neither made the major league roster right away, but whatever adjustments the Jays had them work on in the minors resulted in both establishing themselves at the MLB level in short order. Ward was selected ninth overall in the 1982 MLB June Amateur Draft by the Braves. With the Jays, between 1988 and 1992, he was the only pitcher in MLB to pitch more than 100 innings in relief in each of those five seasons. When Ward first arrived in the organization, teammates had already heard about the arm talent that accompanied him from Atlanta. Former Blue Jays infielder Rance Mulliniks recalled that players were eager to see for themselves whether the reports of Ward's "magnificent arm" were true. They were. His first postseason win came in the epic, 11th-inning Game 4 victory over the Athletics in the 1992 ALCS. The highlights always focus on Roberto Alomar’s home run off A’s closer Dennis Eckersley, but it was Ward who allowed only one hit across the ninth and 10th innings to keep the game tied. In an interview that sportscaster Mark Hebscher shared on social media, he asked Ward whether, during his years as a setup man, he ever wished he could be the closer. In typical "Ward-o" style, he said, “Never.” He took pride in getting the ball to Henke and providing him with a clean slate to pick up a save. That might mean Ward would pitch one inning, but often more. That answer would not have surprised Mulliniks. He described Ward as a player who fully embraced whatever role helped the team most. Even after becoming one of baseball's elite relievers, Ward remained committed to learning every aspect of the game. Mulliniks recalled that Ward frequently sought out hitters to better understand how they thought at the plate, believing that knowledge would make him a better pitcher. He wasn't content to rely solely on his remarkable arm. He wanted to understand how to pitch. He went on to mention some of the setup men who took over for him when he became the closer upon Henke’s departure. Those setup men included Mike Timlin, Mark Eichhorn, Bob MacDonald, and John Cerutti. All of them were effective in the role, but none were as good as Ward. Ward had the temperament of a Dave Stieb. He was intense, and his “stuff” matched that intensity. If anything, he was the polar opposite of Henke, who was zen-like in his approach. That perfect complement created a one-two punch that was nearly unstoppable. Mulliniks saw that intensity up close from his position at third base. He remembered Ward as one of the fiercest competitors on the team, but also noted that his intensity was controlled and purposeful. Ward wasn't simply trying to throw every pitch as hard as possible. His competitiveness was channelled in the right direction, which helped transform extraordinary raw talent into sustained excellence. On the rare occasions Ward ran into trouble, Mulliniks was sometimes sent to the mound by managers Jimmy Williams or Cito Gaston to buy time while another reliever warmed up. It was a task he never particularly enjoyed. Mulliniks remembered slowly making his way to the mound and joking, “First of all, Ward-o, this isn’t my idea.” Ward usually responded by saying nothing at all. Instead, he would pace impatiently, eager to get back to work. There was one rule, however, that Mulliniks learned quickly: Never step on the dirt of the mound. “That was his mound,” Mulliniks recalled. If a teammate stepped onto it, Ward would let them know in no uncertain terms that they weren't welcome there. Beneath the humour was a revealing trait. Ward believed that if he had created a mess, he should be the one to get himself out of it. The confidence, pride and accountability that defined those moments were the same qualities that made him one of baseball's most trusted relievers. Henke shared his memories with reporters this past week, talking a lot about Ward’s pre-game superstitions. These included playing catch with Henke after batting practice, using the exact same urinal at the same time every game day, and always being the first to arrive in the bullpen. Mulliniks also remembered Ward making sure he was the first player off the field after batting practice, often positioning himself toward the dugout to gain an advantage. What teammates seemed to admire most, however, was Ward's dependability. Even when his arm could have used a day off after several consecutive appearances, Mulliniks said Ward would still take the ball if a manager needed an inning or a crucial out. It was a quality that helped make him one of the game's most durable relievers during his peak seasons. Everyone remembers Joe Carter’s “Touch ’em all, Joe!” home run to win the 1993 World Series, but it was Ward who was the winning pitcher of record in Game 6 after pitching a scoreless ninth inning. It might have been his most important outing as a Jay, and it best illustrated the type of player and contributor he was: He set up his teammates to succeed, and you can’t ask for more. When Henke departed following the 1992 season, there was little doubt inside the organization that Ward could take over the ninth inning. Mulliniks, who retired after that season, admitted he was shocked that Toronto allowed Henke to leave, but he was equally confident Ward could handle the pressure of closing games. The Blue Jays knew it too. Whenever Henke needed a day off, Ward had already shown he could thrive in the role. In 1993, he responded with 45 saves, still a franchise single-season record. Ward finished his career with 121 saves and 452 games pitched, both second in Blue Jays history. His impact on Canadian baseball extended well beyond his playing days. Mulliniks credited Ward as the driving force behind many of the Blue Jays alumni clinics that travel across Canada teaching young athletes. Ward approached former team president Paul Beeston with the idea and became one of its strongest advocates. He poured the same energy into developing youth baseball that he once devoted to mastering his craft on the mound. Helping grow the game in Canada became one of his greatest passions. He was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2020. Ward passed away in Toronto on July 18, 2026, at the age of 62. View full article

Back at the beginning of April, the Jays headed into Chicago to play against a team coming off a 101-loss season. The games were close, with plenty of opportunities for the Jays to win, but eventually they came out on the wrong end of a series sweep. What unfolded in early April was one of the first warning signs that the Blue Jays were not the team many expected them to be. Returning from the All-Star break, the Jays hosted the White Sox for a chance at redemption and maybe a shot at reestablishing themselves for a second-half run. Even if you remove the first game blow-out, winning one of three games and scoring one run in the last two would suggest the first half was not an anomaly but just who this team is. Outside of the first game, Jays pitching was strong. The White Sox, who are clearly better than they were last year, tended to get men on base and at least threaten here and there during games. In the few innings where the Jays did get men on base with fewer than two outs, particularly in the win on Saturday afternoon, they couldn’t pick up any insurance runs. It has only been one series, but it appears the magic of the dragon has disappeared, and it might be time for another stuffed animal on a stick. Manager John Schneider says the team has “to start winning.” That’s fair. He has tried just about everything this year. As the first game of this week's series against the Rays proved, it isn't getting any easier. Historically, the Jays tend to play a bit better against the Rays in Toronto (123-117), while Tampa Bay has the Jays' number in Florida, holding a 152-94 all-time record. Schneider has started again talking about urgency, but he’s used that word before this season with little sustained benefit. In the post-game press conference after Sunday’s game, he also talked about how the team needs to “come with the mentality that you expect to win every single day.” That’s tough when you aren’t and don’t win every game. Confidence and momentum, especially at the professional level, are hard to quantify. On paper, the Jays had one of the easier schedules to start the season, but in hindsight things just didn’t play out that way. Maybe it was a case of playing down to opponents. Coming out of the All-Star break, the Jays no longer have the luxury of pointing toward an easy schedule. If anything, the remaining slate presents a significantly tougher challenge. Many of the opponents are chasing playoff spots themselves or already occupy them. Win and the team climbs the standings, lose and they drop. If the Jays remain inconsistent, then they will hover in this “no man’s land” while staying in the hunt but not really progressing. The Orioles just won seven in a row with a run differential this season of -14. Meanwhile, the Red Sox are the hottest team in baseball (they just snapped Baltimore's win streak), winning 14 in a row with a run differential of +46. The Jays are 4-6 in their last 10 with a run differential of -51 for the season. They are now 5.5 games out of the Wild Card, with only three teams below them in the AL standings. The next closest team in the hunt, the Athletics, are 8.5 games out of the Wild Card. Their run differential is an abysmal -111. The Jays entered the season hoping to establish a clear version of themselves. Were they a power-hitting club? A run-prevention club? A balanced contender built around versatility? Four months later, the answer remains unclear. Baseball history contains countless examples of teams that came alive after the All-Star break. There remains enough time for the Jays to make a push, especially with direct games remaining against competitors ahead of them. While the Red Sox and Orioles weathered their own storms and figured out how to win ball games, the Jays have not. In a season that feels full of stops and starts, maybe the first series after the All-Star break was just that. The Jays can look like a team capable of beating anybody on any given night. The next night they can look completely overmatched. There have been stretches where the starting pitching carried the club. Then there have been stretches where the bullpen was the team's greatest strength. At times the defense has been excellent. At other times the offense has shown flashes of life. Unfortunately, this season, rarely have those elements materialized at the same time. In a season that already feels full of false starts, maybe this first series after the break was just another one. Maybe the team responds against stronger opponents and finally discovers some consistency. Or maybe those two White Sox series, one in April and one in July, will eventually be remembered as snapshots of exactly who this team was all along. That is the uncomfortable question facing the Blue Jays in this second half of the season. The answer will determine whether meaningful games are still being played in September or not. At this point, it is still tough to tell. View full article

The Jays are committed to a high-priced core, with long-term deals for Vladimir Guerrero Jr., José Berríos, Andrés Giménez, Anthony Santander, and Alejandro Kirk. Most of these deals extend until at least 2029. Next year alone, this group will collectively earn approximately $114 million. Factor in about another $30 million for Dylan Cease, alongside the cost of filling out the rest of the roster, and the Jays will quickly find themselves closing in on the Competitive Balance Tax threshold, estimated to be around $250 million in 2027. Long-term deals are always risky (Vernon Wells, anyone?), but these ones still have merit. Even though he is in a down year relative to expectations, Guerrero’s massive extension was not solely about his year-to-year production. It solidified the franchise’s commitment to winning. It also served as a signal to the rest of Major League Baseball that ownership will spend and that Toronto is a destination. You can make an argument that subsequent major acquisitions, including trades and signings for Shane Bieber, Cease, and Kazuma Okamoto, were all a result of Guerrero's deal. With a new collective bargaining agreement coming somewhere down the road, time will tell if these deals are reasonable or restrictive. Collectively, they don’t completely handcuff the team from trades or signing big-name free agents over the next few seasons, but they will undoubtedly make the front office a little more hesitant to keep spending. Over his career, Guerrero has been an absolute gamer. Even before signing his mega-extension, he averaged 157 games per season over a three-year stretch, proving that his durability matches his star power. The same cannot be easily said for the rest of the core. Key elements of the roster have faced significant stints on the injured list over the past two seasons, testing the team’s depth. Significant injuries, like the ones to Berríos and Santander, are often covered under insurance that most teams carry, especially for large contracts. While it stinks for fans, it stings for insurance companies that are footing some or all of the base salary while the player is off. The contracts might be covered, but it doesn’t mean the team is free to spend that money somewhere else. Giménez was sidelined early last season and only appeared in 107 games. He has been looking a bit more mobile, especially on the bases leading up to the All-Star break, but beforehand had complained of hamstring and quad discomfort, and it showed in his hesitancy to advance on the basepaths. Big contracts are all about return. Guerrero has shown he can be an MVP-calibre player. When healthy, Berríos is a consistent starter who can rack up innings. Berríos produced a 3.65 ERA in 2023 across 189.2 innings and followed that with a 3.60 ERA in 2024 over 192.1 innings. Those back-to-back seasons reinforced his reputation as one of baseball's most durable starting pitchers. Even in 2025, when his ERA rose to 4.17, he still logged 166 innings in 31 appearances. However, that trademark durability took a major hit. After undergoing full Tommy John surgery in May, Berríos will miss the rest of this year and likely won't return to the Blue Jays' rotation until the second half of next season. Catchers seem to age faster than other players, but Kirk provides a lot of tools, and his average salary is commensurate with comparable catchers. The outliers on the list of bigger contracts are Giménez and Santander. Giménez earned his contract with the Guardians by hitting .297 with an OPS of .837 in 2022. He had a 7.4 Baseball Reference Win Above Replacement (bWAR) that season. His bWAR has dropped in each of the last three seasons. According to Baseball Reference, Giménez's WAR has been on a steady decline: 5.0 in 2023, 4.0 in 2024, and 1.1 in 2025. This season, it sits at 0.6. Baseball Savant still rates him highly with an 8 Fielding Run Value (96th percentile) and 10 Outs Above Average (99th percentile), but his offensive metrics remain among the weakest in the league, hence his precarious WAR. JoJo Parker and Arjun Nimmala are making waves at the top of the team’s prospect rankings, but they aren’t expected to make the bigs until 2028 at the earliest. Josh Kasevich is biding his time in Buffalo right now as a shortstop and third baseman. Based on estimations, he could make the jump at any point if there is an injury. Regardless, there isn’t really a market for a weak-hitting, exceptional-fielding middle infielder with a big contract. Most likely, the Jays ride Giménez for a few more seasons then don’t pick up his option in 2030. Santander is another matter. He has played a total of 54 regular season games and five in the postseason with the Jays since signing. Prior to becoming a Jay, he had averaged more than 153 games in the previous three seasons with the Orioles. With George Springer’s contract expiring after this season, and if he gets healthy, Santander is probably the team’s DH moving forward. His contract runs until 2029 with a player opt-out and a team option, but neither is expected to be exercised. That contract, five years at $92.5 million, is the one that isn’t looking so great these days. Every dollar committed to a single player impacts flexibility elsewhere on the roster. Every long-term deal carries the possibility of surplus value or dead money. Over the next three seasons, the success or failure of Toronto's payroll strategy will depend on whether these players produce at or near their peak levels. The broader challenge facing the Jays is not any individual contract. It is the cumulative effect of all of them. Guerrero, Berríos, Giménez, Santander, and Kirk represent a massive percentage of the club's financial obligations moving forward. With Daulton Varsho, Kevin Gausman, and Springer’s contracts expiring after this season, there is some financial relief on the horizon for the front office. Looking to the immediate future, the Jays will be looking for a couple of starters, a middle-order bat, and will possibly look to extend some younger players or someone like Ernie Clement, who will be eligible for arbitration for two more years. Having a core of high-paid players isn’t a big issue unless they don’t play to a baseline expectation. When they underperform, it means the organization needs to find value elsewhere in the system, and that carries its own risk. The parade of players that have been keeping the team afloat this season is an indication that the Jays are waiting for their core to return to form. A slew of moves before the trade deadline could indicate their patience is running thin. View full article

As the Jays prepare to start the second half of the season, with a record of 45-51, they sit last in the American League East and looking up at multiple teams in both the division and Wild Card race. The American League has been remarkably average in 2026. Outside of a handful of clubs, nobody has established themselves as a true powerhouse. Toronto's 2.5-game deficit in the Wild Card race is hardly overwhelming with more than two months remaining in the season. What remains unclear is whether this roster possesses enough consistency to take advantage of it. The answer to that question may determine more than whether Toronto reaches October. It may determine whether this group gets another opportunity to write a different ending before the next version of the Blue Jays takes shape. In recent memory, the Blue Jays were building around a foundation of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette. As the roster evolved, veterans such as George Springer, Kevin Gausman, and Daulton Varsho, along with others, became key supporting pieces around that foundation. The expectation was that this group would deliver sustained contention. Now, there is reason to wonder whether that window of contention is beginning to shift toward a younger group of players. This season increasingly feels like a crossroads. Maybe not for a full rebuild but substantial change. A team built to contend should not spend July searching for answers. The statistics suggest Toronto's record is not simply the result of bad luck. Through 96 games, the club has scored 392 runs while allowing 427. Their minus-35 run differential reflects a team whose underlying performance largely matches its position in the standings. The offense has struggled to generate consistent hard contact. Big innings have been rare. Run production has literally been hit or miss. As a result, the pitching staff has shouldered a heavy burden through 96 games. The Jays have been slightly better offensively in the last week or so TAD ("time after dragon"), but is it just a blip? More than any other player, Guerrero embodies what's gone wrong in the first half. Franchise players are not supposed to carry every roster flaw, but instead elevate good teams into dangerous ones. Through 387 plate appearances, he owns a .262 batting average, a .346 on-base percentage and six home runs. Baseball Savant says his expected batting average sits at .287 while his expected slugging percentage is .406, indicating his actual production could be better but not approaching superstar output. If the Jays are going to make a second-half run, it begins with Guerrero rediscovering the offensive dominance that once made him an MVP candidate. While Guerrero has left observers wanting more, Kazuma Okamoto has delivered exactly what Toronto envisioned. His 22 home runs lead the team. His barrel rate is exceptional. It is double the team average. The strikeouts can occasionally be frustrating, but they're easily forgotten when he makes contact. Without him, Toronto's offensive shortcomings would be significantly more pronounced. Unfortunately, several veteran contributors have moved in the opposite direction. Springer remains a leader in the clubhouse, but the production has not reflected his reputation. Through 293 plate appearances, he owns a .218 batting average, .303 on-base percentage and .374 slugging percentage. Varsho has experienced a similar season. His defensive value is still high, but there have been lapses. At the plate, the production has been average. Seven home runs and a .240/.308/.387 slash line doesn’t make a great case for a big contract. Varsho and Springer have helped define this current era of Blue Jays baseball. If the team chooses a different direction this winter, their underwhelming seasons would be a disappointing end to their tenures. One of the most encouraging developments this season has been the emergence of players who were never expected to play such prominent offensive roles. Ernie Clement continues to be one of the most remarkable stories on the roster, perhaps proving 2025 was no fluke. His .296 batting average leads the club's regulars while his 106 hits rank among the league's best totals. Baseball Savant's expected metrics suggest that success might not continue because of modest quality-of-contact indicators. Nathan Lukes deserves mention as well. His .288 batting average and .343 on-base percentage have provided a measure of stability in a lineup that has struggled to find consistency. Lukes is part of a busy outfield that hasn’t really stabilized. Every night, it seems there are changes. With Myles Straw, Jonatan Clase, Jesús Sánchez, Davis Schneider and Yohendrick Piñango having seen time in the outfield this season, there is no lack of options. Don’t forget that Addison Barger and Anthony Santander might make an appearance in the second half. The Jays need to identify which options, or if any, deserve everyday roles moving forward. Sánchez, for instance, has a .274 batting average, .437 slugging percentage and 10.8 percent barrel rate. Those are worthy of starting status, yet his defense is lacking, and his splits aren’t great (he hits .148 against lefties). There are signs that the next version of the Blue Jays may already be arriving. Fans have gotten to see a steady stream of position players and pitchers suit up for the team so far this season, and some have contributed, albeit in small sample sizes. As frustrating as the offense has been, the pitching staff deserves considerably more credit than it has received. The Blue Jays have accumulated 849 strikeouts in 849.2 innings. Only a handful of American League clubs have generated strikeout totals at a comparable rate. Time and again, Toronto's pitchers have kept games competitive only to receive minimal offensive support. Dylan Cease has answered the bell. He owns a 2.56 ERA and 148 strikeouts in 98.1 innings. Even if the 2026 season eventually falls short of expectations, Toronto can enter future seasons knowing it possesses an ace capable of leading a playoff rotation. Gausman has been a more nuanced case. The veteran right-hander continues to consume innings and shoulder responsibility. His 112.1 innings lead the club, but his 4.33 ERA reflects a season filled with both positive stretches and frustrating setbacks. With free agency approaching, the remainder of the season will dictate whether he returns next season. The bullpen, meanwhile, has quietly become a strength. Mason Fluharty and Braydon Fisher have absorbed demanding workloads throughout the year. Neither has been perfect, but both have given manager John Schneider valuable innings. Louis Varland has emerged as one of the biggest surprises in the American League. His 1.10 ERA and 19 saves have transformed him into a legitimate ninth-inning weapon. Tyler Rogers has supplied equally important support with a 1.65 ERA across 45 appearances. Even Jeff Hoffman deserves more credit than his ERA and four blown saves suggest. He has 63 strikeouts in 41.1 innings. What makes the next few weeks so compelling is that Toronto's future may be clearer than its present. The Blue Jays are not staring down a full rebuild. In many ways, they are standing between two eras. The first, led by familiar veterans who helped keep the club competitive. The second, built around Guerrero, Cease, Okamoto and a younger supporting cast that is already beginning to emerge. In a world of analytics, and devoid of sentimentality, it is hard to imagine Springer, Max Scherzer or Patrick Corbin returning in 2027. It is debatable whether Yimi García, Gausman, Shane Bieber and Varsho will be brought back as well. However, much of the roster will be back. The infield will be identical. The outfield will have, at least, some familiar faces. The starting pitching will have a solid foundation with Cease, Trey Yesavage and José Berríos. Alejandro Kirk remains behind the plate with Brandon Valenzuela positioned as a logical backup. The bullpen is expected to return largely unchanged. The coming weeks will help determine how aggressively the front office changes that outlook. If the Blue Jays can make a run, general manager Ross Atkins may choose to add reinforcements at the deadline. If they stumble, moving expiring assets makes sense. The focus would be on ensuring the next competitive cycle arrives as smoothly as possible. The next month will not just be about chasing a Wild Card berth. It will be about determining whether one era has another postseason run left in it before the next era begins. When the season started, many envisioned a mini-dynasty. The 2026 Blue Jays have certainly fallen short of expectations. Perhaps the most important question facing the Blue Jays isn't whether they can sneak into October. It is whether 2026 represents the end of a disappointing season or the beginning of the franchise's next competitive chapter. Springer, Gausman, Varsho, Scherzer and Bieber may be playing their final months in Toronto. Despite sitting in last place in the American League East, the Blue Jays remain within striking distance of a playoff spot. This version of the Blue Jays may not be a dynasty. It may not even be particularly good, but sometimes where there is hope, there is a way. The numbers say there’s little magic in the tank, but often magic comes when you least expect it. It might also come next season. View full article

The Blue Jays are trying just about everything to get their offense started. They've tried being patient at the plate. They've tried attacking early in counts. They've shuffled the batting order and mixed-and-matched lineups based on matchups. Every team goes through offensive slumps, and for the Jays, those slumps haven’t been offset by enough winning stretches. Through 91 games (entering play on Tuesday), the Blue Jays own a .304 on-base percentage and have drawn only 248 walks. Both figures rank near the bottom of Major League Baseball. Their .685 OPS also sits well below league average and explains why scoring opportunities have been so few and far between. The Jays have seen the third-lowest number of pitches this season with 12,800. That is about 250 more than the Red Sox and 50 more than the Rays. The Dodgers, Cubs and Pirates have seen nearly 2,000 more pitches in their games, and all have about the same number of batted balls as the Jays. In the last week alone, opposing starting pitchers have managed to work deep into games by throwing competitive pitches (often for strikes). When they have strayed from the zone, Jays hitters have followed. The result has been some lopsided scores. Baseball is a hard game, but it is even more difficult when, as a team, you don’t follow a plan. Data like release point, velocity, spin, bat speed and launch angle can be helpful for modern-day pitchers and batters, but just having the data doesn’t mean a player can execute. Any advantage when it comes to counts and runners on base is valuable for an offense. Obviously, easier said than done. Changing the order in search of a hot-hand can work, and it has a few times this season, but not for a prolonged stretch. The Jays have lost their mojo largely because opponents have shifted their approach against them. Once an offense loses its edge, it starts to try a little harder and inevitably falters. Trading half the lineup won’t help if the approach at the plate remains the same. Not being selective and not getting hitters' counts means opposing pitchers can continue to follow their game plans. The team is hitting .186 with two strikes this season. That ranks second best in MLB. The problem is that they don’t get to two strikes all that often (and hitting under .200 isn’t great). When you include their MLB-leading 64% swing rate when down two strikes, that .186 doesn’t look any better. In Monday night’s loss to the Giants, the Jays put 12 balls in play with the majority of those pitches on the fringes of the plate. As Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi pointed out: “tough spots to get to damage.” The recent 29-inning scoreless streak wasn't simply the result of elite pitching. Opposing pitchers have been good, but the Jays have made them look exceptional. Statcast data says the Jays own a 35.7 percent hard-hit rate and a 6.3 percent barrel rate this season, both of which rank in the lower tier of Major League Baseball. Their expected weighted on-base average (xwOBA) sits at .298, almost identical to their actual production. Another indicator that pitchers are dictating at-bats is Toronto's lack of impact contact. Despite putting 2,411 balls in play, the Blue Jays have produced just 151 barrels this season. Only Cleveland has fewer barrels among teams with a comparable number of batted balls. Statcast defines a barrel as the ideal combination of exit velocity and launch angle, and those are the swings that typically produce extra-base hits and home runs. Without more barrels, the Jays won't be doing much damage. Based on recent at-bats, it kind of feels like if the Jays were using bigger bats, they still wouldn't be barrelling up the ball. Opposing teams have figured something out, and the blueprint is working over and over again. Attack the zone. Avoid walks. And force Jays hitters to swing at pitcher-friendly pitches. Follow that formula and weak contact follows. The frustrating part for the Blue Jays is that the issue isn't solely about contact. They rank among the tougher teams in baseball to strike out, but avoiding strikeouts only matters if the ball is being hit hard. Too many of Toronto's balls in play have resulted in routine outs rather than hitting them where they ain't. Major league hitters don’t tend to have holes in their swings. Their hitting is analyzed in every game and every at-bat. It is simple, as an outsider, to say that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. should lay off every outside pitch. You aren't going to ask Ernie Clement or Kazuma Okamoto to stop expanding their zones. Or tell Daulton Varsho that he should stop chasing pitches above the zone and suggest to Andrés Giménez to improve his bat speed. The problem is that pitchers are constantly adjusting as well. A recommitment to controlling at-bats, forcing pitchers into hitter’s counts and refusing to expand the strike zone may not generate immediate results, but it would represent a step toward building an offensive identity. If you reverse the perspective and think about how teams have adjusted to Kevin Gausman, perhaps there are some lessons to be learned there. Teams that are effective against Gausman tend to identify his put-away pitch, the splitter, and hunt the fastball or slider. When Gausman isn’t executing with his splitter by keeping it around the zone, opposing lineups have found success. The Blue Jays don't need a complete overhaul. They need opposing pitchers to stop feeling comfortable. They need the pitch counts of starters to be above 40 in the third inning. They need those starters to leave games after five innings instead of seven. They need more hitter's counts, more traffic on the bases and more opportunities to swing at pitches they can actually drive. Most importantly, they need to stop helping opposing pitchers execute their game plans. Until that changes, no lineup shuffle, hot streak or trade deadline addition will solve what ails this offense. The solution isn't hidden in the batting order. It's keeping opposing pitchers honest and waiting for a mistake they can actually drive. Stats updated prior to games on July 7. View full article

Amidst a frustrating season where the most consistent thing about the team is its inconsistency, the Toronto Blue Jays will, at best, hit the All-Star break with a record two games below .500. Before the season even started, analysts had pegged this team to be a better version of the one from a year ago. The blueprint seemed straightforward. George Springer only needed to remain close to the level he reached in 2025, while Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was expected to carry over at least a portion of the torrid offensive pace he set during the postseason run. Instead, neither has materialized. Guerrero entered the season as the unquestioned face of the franchise. Yet through the first 90-plus games of 2026, he owns a .263 batting average, four home runs, 35 RBI and a .693 OPS. Springer, meanwhile, has struggled to produce at the top of the lineup while battling through a season that has included a broken toe and declining quality-of-contact numbers. Still, assigning blame solely to the marquee names would be unfair. The Blue Jays have received uneven production across the roster, and that has left them stranded in the middle of a wide-open American League. With roughly half the season complete, the report card looks far less impressive than anyone associated with the organization hoped it would. Toronto Blue Jays Midseason Report Card The starting rotation earns a C+. On paper, Toronto's rotation looked deep enough to withstand injuries and occasional under-performance. In practice, it has become a group defined by inconsistency. The obvious bright spot has been All-Star Dylan Cease, who has exceeded expectations and frequently looked like the ace the front office envisioned. Kevin Gausman has also turned in several excellent stretches despite a handful of rocky outings that have inflated perceptions of his overall performance. Trey Yesavage has shown flashes of frontline potential as well. While his command occasionally abandons him as his release point wanders, the young right-hander has largely met expectations for a pitcher navigating his first extended major league season. Unfortunately, the positive stories largely stop there. The biggest issue has been the inability of the back end of the rotation to provide length. Every contender can survive one underperforming starter. Surviving three or four becomes exponentially more difficult. Few observers expected Max Scherzer or Shane Bieber to recapture their Cy Young form in 2026. The expectation was far more modest. Toronto simply needed veteran professionalism, competitive outings and enough quality innings to preserve the bullpen. Instead, both pitchers have struggled to limit damage and keep games within reach. The same applies to the revolving door of fifth-starter options. Eric Lauer never found a rhythm early in the season, while Patrick Corbin has been unable to replicate the effectiveness Lauer showed a year ago. Every short start has carried a domino effect. Relievers have been asked to cover extra innings. High-leverage arms have appeared more frequently than intended. John Schneider has been forced to manage every series with one eye on the current game and another on the bullpen's remaining availability. For the Jays, inconsistent pitching has rarely been saved by the offense. The team entered the season expecting its pitching staff to prevent damage while the lineup generated enough support to win close games. Instead, too many nights have featured a tired bullpen protecting slim leads or attempting to keep deficits manageable while waiting for an offensive breakthrough that never arrives. A C+ may sound harsh, but it is arguably generous considering the expectations attached to this group entering the season. The rotation has shown flashes of excellence. What it has not shown is consistency. The bullpen earns a C. Its durability alone deserves recognition. By this point in the season, several Toronto relievers must feel as though they have pitched every other day. The relief corps has absorbed a tremendous workload because of the rotation's shortcomings, and that reality must be acknowledged before discussing blown saves and missed opportunities. The Blue Jays have recorded a dozen blown saves entering the final week before the All-Star break. Flip only half of those outcomes and the entire narrative surrounding the season changes. Instead of discussing disappointment, conversation shifts toward playoff positioning. For perspective, some teams have struggled even more in late-game situations. Washington has blown more than 20 saves, while Houston sits among the league leaders in reliability with only five. The difference between those extremes illustrates how important bullpen performance can be over a six-month season. Jeff Hoffman has absorbed much of the criticism because he has three blown saves. Yet bullpen evaluation is rarely that simple. Former Blue Jay Seranthony Domínguez has accumulated even more blown saves, underscoring how volatile relief pitching can be from year to year. To manager John Schneider's credit, adjustments were eventually made. Reducing Hoffman's usage in the most difficult leverage situations and relying more heavily on Tyler Rogers and All-Star Louis Varland has stabilized the late innings. The bullpen still bends more often than fans would like, but it is no longer the nightly adventure it appeared to be earlier in the season. The concern moving forward is workload. In particular, Mason Fluharty and Braydon Fisher have each been asked to shoulder significant responsibilities. If the rotation can provide more length during the second half, this group has enough talent to improve. If not, fatigue will be a significant factor by August and September. Ultimately, grading the bullpen becomes an exercise in balancing context against outcomes. The workload has been unfair. The performance has been uneven. The offense earns a D-. Before discussing individual players, it is important to understand the broader picture. In almost every meaningful offensive category, Toronto has regressed compared to the club that entered the 2025 All-Star break. The batting average is lower. The slugging percentage is lower. The OPS is lower. The home run total has declined. Most importantly, the run production has cratered. The 2025 team scored nearly 100 more runs through a similar stage of the season. Losing approximately 20 home runs certainly contributes to that decline, but so do 100 fewer hits. Teams cannot score consistently when they neither reach base nor drive the baseball. The lineup card frequently features many of the same names that helped power last year's success. Whether due to elevated expectations, mechanical issues, injuries or simple under-performance, the Blue Jays have struggled to generate sustained offensive pressure. The problems begin at the top. Springer’s bounce-back campaign in 2025 helped stabilize the lineup and created opportunities for the middle of the order. This year has been a different story. Injuries have played a role, particularly the broken toe he suffered earlier in the season, but the results remain disappointing. His batting average has fallen dramatically, and the declining hard-hit and barrel rates suggest the issues extend beyond bad luck. When he struggles, the ripple effects are felt throughout the lineup. Not every offensive story has been negative. Ernie Clement continues to prove that last year's breakout was not a fluke. His batting average has hovered around .300 for much of the season while providing dependable contact and competitive at-bats. Clement may never be confused with the game's elite offensive players, although kudos for the All-Star nod, but he has become one of Toronto's most reliable contributors. Kazuma Okamoto deserves significant praise as well. While his batting average does not compare to Bo Bichette's peak production, he has supplied something the Blue Jays desperately needed: power. Okamoto leads Toronto with 20 home runs (the only Jay with home runs in double figures) and 55 RBI. He has unquestionably been the club's most productive run producer. The strikeouts remain a concern, and his total is roughly double that of many teammates, but in a lineup starving for impact offense, the production outweighs the imperfections. Nathan Lukes has quietly validated the organization's belief in him, too. Hitting roughly .285 with an OPS near .730, Lukes has delivered consistent professional at-bats while playing dependable defense. His emergence is one reason Jesús Sánchez has found himself pushed into a reduced role. Baseball has a funny way of creating opportunities, and Lukes has taken full advantage. Yohendrick Piñango also deserves some praise as well. Filling in for Addison Barger is not an easy assignment, but the young outfielder has performed competently. The larger issue remains the lack of production from players expected to carry the lineup. Through early July, Guerrero has just over 80 hits, which ranks second on the roster behind Clement's total, but his overall offensive line remains startlingly modest. He is batting .263 with four home runs, 35 RBI and a .693 OPS. Those stats belong to a useful everyday player, not a franchise superstar and one of baseball's highest-profile first basemen. Four home runs through the season's first half simply is not enough. And if he chases one more breaking ball down and away... Alejandro Kirk's season has been equally frustrating, though for different reasons. A broken finger limited him to only a small sample of games. Hitting below .200 with an OPS around .540, Kirk has struggled to drive the baseball when available. The one redeeming feature has been his outstanding work with the Automated Ball-Strike challenge system. Sadly, that rarely equates to runs. At some point, however, the organization may need to consider increasing opportunities for Brandon Valenzuela. Not because Kirk has lost his talent, but because the team requires offensive production from the catcher position. Outside Guerrero, no player better symbolizes Toronto's season than Daulton Varsho. Varsho entered the year carrying momentum and significant expectations. Injuries, particularly the wrist issue that interrupted his campaign, have derailed those plans. The home runs and RBI totals sit well below where Toronto expected them to be. Taken individually, each player's struggles would be manageable. Combined, they are exactly why the Blue Jays remain stuck below .500. The encouraging news is that the American League is just as inconsistent. The Wild Card race remains crowded, and that has prevented the Blue Jays from falling completely out of contention. As things stand today, Toronto's overall report card lands somewhere around a C. That is not a failing grade. It is a grade of a gifted student who isn’t putting in the work and instead is coasting through the term. The rotation needs greater consistency. The bullpen needs relief from its overwhelming workload. The lineup needs its stars to perform like stars. Most importantly, the entire roster needs to find a way to string together quality baseball for longer than a handful of days. Every time the Blue Jays seem ready to build momentum, a cold stretch follows. Consistency has become the missing ingredient. Maybe a healthy roster will provide it. Maybe Guerrero rediscovers his power stroke. Maybe Springer catches fire. Maybe the rotation settles into defined roles. Maybe the bullpen survives long enough to benefit from those improvements. Whatever the solution turns out to be, the second half can’t resemble the first. For a team with postseason aspirations and championship expectations, merely being average is no longer enough. The Blue Jays need to become consistently consistent, and until that happens, they will remain exactly where they are today: trapped in the middle of the pack, searching for the form that made them a playoff team just one year ago. View full article

As Bo Bichette returns to Toronto this week, with both his Mets and his former team scuffling, there will be plenty of discussion about his Blue Jays legacy. The Jays have had some good shortstops over the course of the franchise’s history, but the discussion over who is the greatest no doubt pits Bichette against Tony Fernandez. There is no doubt that Bichette continues to be a phenomenal hitter, despite a tough start to this season, but for what it is worth… Fernandez is the greatest shortstop in Blue Jays history, and it is not a particularly close race. That is not meant to diminish Bichette. From his debut in 2019, Bichette consistently hovered around or above a .290 batting average, posted seasons with 20 or more home runs, and drove in runs at a pace that places him among the better-hitting shortstops in baseball. Bichette produced seasons where he topped 180 hits, flirted with 200, and finished near the top of the league in total bases. His career OPS has often sat comfortably above league average. When comparing shortstops, you need to look beyond solely their batting statistics. It has to include longevity, consistency, defense, and impact in the biggest moments a team has ever experienced. That is where Tony Fernandez separates himself from any shortstop that has worn a Jays’ jersey. Fernandez debuted with the Blue Jays in 1983, at a time when the franchise was still searching for credibility. By the mid to late 1980s, he had become one of the best shortstops in all of baseball. He finished his career with over 2,200 hits, including 1,583 with the Blue Jays alone, a figure that places him among the franchise leaders even decades after his final game in a Toronto uniform. He was a five-time All-Star, a four-time Gold Glove winner, and finished in the top ten of American League MVP voting three times. Fernandez hit .297 in his career, an exceptional mark for a player whose primary responsibility was defense. In his best seasons, he was not just a contact hitter but a dynamic one. In 1987, he hit .322 with 213 hits, scored 100 runs, and drove in 67, numbers that look even more impressive when placed in the context of the era. In 1990, he finished with 213, batting .306, and driving in a career high 92 runs. But what elevates Fernandez above Bichette is the totality of his game and the way he influenced every inning he played. His defense in particular was exceptional. If you had the privilege to watch him play, you saw an effortless fluidity that is unparalleled. Rance Mulliniks told me once that he was often left spellbound by Fernandez while playing beside him. Fernandez did not just play shortstop; he mastered it. His style was recognizable instantly, from the way he glided across the dirt to the almost artistic motion of his throws from deep in the hole. Since defensive stats were not measured in the same way we do today, his four Gold Gloves only begin to capture his impact. Bichette, on the other hand, was never the best defender. He has a strong arm and covers a decent amount of ground, but even compared to Andres Gimenez, Bichette was better suited for another position. Fernandez spent parts of 12 seasons with Toronto across multiple stints, and in his prime years from 1985 through 1990, he was an everyday presence who rarely came off the field. He logged seasons with over 150 games played regularly. Bichette, while durable in his own right, simply has not had the time yet to match that kind of sustained impact with one franchise. His injuries in the last few years with the Jays don’t help his case. Although you have to give him kudos for doing the hard work and being available during last year’s World Series. That brings us to the matter of which player performed the best when the stakes were highest. The Blue Jays of the late 1980s and early 1990s were building toward something, and Fernandez was at the centre of it. He was a key contributor to the team that won the franchise’s first division title in 1985. He remained an important piece as the club matured into a contender, and although he was traded before the 1992 World Series run, he returned in 1993 and played a crucial role in that championship. In the 1993 World Series, Fernandez hit .357 and drove in nine runs. It is easy to remember Joe Carter’s walk-off home run, the moment that ended the series and etched itself into baseball history. But in Game 6, before Carter ever got his chance, Fernandez delivered a two-run single in the seventh inning that gave the Blue Jays the lead. Bichette’s Game 7 World Series 442-foot home run off Shohei Ohtani will long be remembered by Jays’ fans as a Kirk Gibson-like moment, but while it opened the scoring in that game, ultimately it wasn’t enough. Tony Fernandez passed away in February 2020 at the age of 57, following complications from kidney disease and a stroke. His death hit the Blue Jays community hard, not only because of his accomplishments on the field but because of what he represented. For many fans, particularly those who grew up watching in the 1980s and early 1990s, Fernandez was the Blue Jays. He was there as the team found its footing, as it became competitive, and as it ultimately won the World Series. Bichette is still writing his story. And who knows, maybe someday he’ll return to the Jays. Although if he ever does, it will most likely be as a second baseman. But as things stand today, Tony Fernandez remains in his own category. He was not just a great shortstop for the Blue Jays; he was the standard by which all others are measured. As a Jay, Bichette gave younger fans plenty of reasons to watch, to hope, and to believe in what the future might hold. Fernandez, on the other hand, gave fans everything a franchise could ask for. Welcome back, Bo. We miss you, Tony. View full article

Anthony Santander is about to start over again, but not in the way the Jays hoped when they signed him in January 2025. Santander was supposed to be a middle-of-the-order presence with real power. Instead, as he inches back toward a bat-in-hands routine, he feels more like a question mark than an answer. MLB’s Keegan Matheson relayed what John Schneider told reporters on Thursday: Santander is scheduled to start hitting “either this weekend or next,” and “there’s a shot he could definitely be a factor.” That doesn’t really tell us much, other than he is able to swing a bat. Like we’ve seen with some of the pitching staff, the Jays are not in a hurry to get players back on the field. Instead, they are taking a safer, health-first approach. That is especially true with Santander, who might have returned a bit too quickly last year, eventually landing him back on the injured list. Before signing with the Jays, Santander was one of baseball’s more productive switch-hitting sluggers. Across eight seasons in Baltimore, Santander was both consistent and quietly elite in bursts. He hit 33 home runs in 2022, 28 in 2023, and then exploded for 44 in 2024. That year, he also drove in 102 and had an .814 OPS, placing him among the game’s most dangerous hitters. He made the All-Star team. He won a Silver Slugger. He did it as a switch-hitter, joining an exclusive historical group to ever reach that home run total. When he was signed, the Jays were expecting a middle-of-the-lineup bat to force opposing pitchers to give Vladimir Guerrero Jr. some pitches to hit. Santander has a .241 average over his career with 161 home runs and a .763 OPS. Santander signed a five-year, $92.5 million deal. It carries an average annual value of $18.5 million, with options and deferrals that stretch the commitment even further. There clearly was an expectation that he could keep up his later-career breakout. So far, in limited action, he has stumbled. In his first season with the Blue Jays, he struggled immediately. In 54 games, he hit .175 with six home runs and a .565 OPS. Most of his woes have been attributed to injury. As a Jay, Santander has never looked fully right, even before the injuries were made public. His bad shoulder eventually required labral surgery earlier this year. There’s no question the Jays would dearly love the 44-home-run version of Santander to show up tomorrow, but it is late June, and his ramp-up, in the best-case scenario, wouldn’t culminate in a major league at-bat until August. And while the focus has understandably been on health, the bigger question is harder to answer. If Anthony Santander comes back, can he even be that impact player? The last version of Santander was one of the least productive stretches of his career. His 2025 OPS sat at .565, far below his career .762 mark, and his power output cratered. Is this recovering version of Santander his last real chance to return to form? Or does his contract guarantee that the Blue Jays will keep giving him runway, no matter how crowded things get? The 2026 Blue Jays are not desperate for outfield help. They are juggling it. George Springer has shifted into a regular DH role, and Daulton Varsho has returned to a mix that already included Nathan Lukes, Myles Straw, and others. Even before factoring in Santander’s absence, this was a roster where spots in the outfield were at a premium. Santander doesn’t provide a lot of versatility. If his bat doesn’t materialize, then does the team need a below-average fielder and runner in the outfield? Yohendrick Piñango and Jesús Sánchez have more speed and have demonstrated they have pop too. Don’t forget that Addison Barger is also nearing a return. So if Santander comes back and looks like the 2025 version of himself, where exactly does he play? When a team commits nearly $100 million to a player, it tends to create opportunity. The Blue Jays did not sign Santander to be a bench piece or a situational bat. They signed him to make an impact. The Jays will be in a bind if he returns as the 2025 version. He is owed significant money through 2029, and there won’t be a market for his services. His return will not just put pressure on his (recovering) shoulders to perform, but also on the team to figure out what to do. If there is any positive in this situation, it is that Santander needs a long runway to work himself into shape. There is no rush for anyone, and that might push a potential return beyond this season. Santander is not just working towards 2026; he’ll also be working toward 2027 and beyond. If he flashes the old power, even inconsistently, this could be a happy story. The Blue Jays can point to health as the missing piece, trust the track record, and plan accordingly. If he does not, his deal will go down as one of the worst in team history. Santander is not returning to a team waiting for him to save them. He is returning to a team that has learned to survive without him. When Schneider says there is a shot Santander could be a factor, the wording was probably deliberate. A shot. Because right now, that is exactly what this is. A shot that the player who hit 44 home runs not long ago can show up again. A shot that the shoulder heals cleanly, that the swing returns, that the timing clicks before the season runs out. A shot that the contract is worth it. The Jays will continue to give him a shot. His contract guarantees that. Whether he turns it into something more will decide everything. View full article