The Blue Jays still might not be a particularly good baseball team, but they’ve at least become an entertaining one since the trade deadline.
Throughout much of the first half, taking in a Jays game wasn’t too far removed from watching paint dry. An anemic offence meant long periods without a baserunner, let alone a scoring opportunity. The bullpen was bad enough to make even diehard fans question their loyalties.
On days when the Jays fell behind early, there was no reason to keep tuning in. When the starting pitcher performed well, most of the game was spent waiting for the one mistake that would turn a winnable game into an inevitable loss. Having a losing record is bad enough; doing it with an aging roster that offers little hope for the future is even worse.
Thankfully, eight trades at the end of July helped change the narrative. The Jays acquired 13 prospects, including Will Wagner and Joey Loperfido. They also made room for some of their own — such as Spencer Horwitz and Addison Barger — to assume bigger roles.
This week in Deep Left Field, we are joined by honest-to-goodness Canadian rock royalty.
That means no more Kevin Kiermaier flailing at breaking balls, or Justin Turner swinging through fastballs down the middle. Placeholder Isiah Kiner-Falefa was shuffled out, too, as the Jays embraced a youth movement. The changes haven’t led to a big uptick in wins, but they at least brought the fun back for players and fans alike.
Friday’s series opener against the Chicago Cubs was proof of that. The Jays lost 6-5 in 10 innings at Wrigley Field, but not before rallying from three runs down in the ninth to force extras. One additional run and they would have overcome a three-run deficit to win for just the third time all season.
There’s nothing more boring in baseball than watching a struggling veteran who doesn’t have a future with the team. If the fan base has to watch a player underperform, it should at least be someone young, so their progress can be monitored and reasons for optimism found.
The Jays have a lot of players like that right now. Loperfido is off to a rough start since arriving from Houston at the trade deadline, but the outfielder possesses power the organization lacks elsewhere. He’s trying to prove he can make the necessary adjustments and become an everyday bat. Some games it looks like it might happen; others he looks overmatched.
In the infield, Wagner has seven hits in three games as he auditions at second base. Horwitz is attempting to show he can hit for enough power to become a legitimate option at DH. Leo Jimenez, who hit his second home run of the season on Friday, is looking to prove he has what it takes to be next in line if Bo Bichette is traded over the winter.Â
Then there’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who has re-established himself as one of the most exciting players in the game. In the first half, the only thing fans anticipated every time he stepped into the box was another hard groundout. Now, something big is expected with every swing.
Guerrero, who went 0-for-5 but just missed a go-ahead homer in the 10th inning of Friday’s loss, entered the Cubs series with a .457 average, 12 doubles, 11 homers, 25 RBIs and a 1.480 on-base plus slugging percentage since the all-star break. He’s on arguably the hottest run of his career, even better than 2021 when he finished second to Shohei Ohtani for the American League MVP.
The vibes around the Jays have improved dramatically, but they’re still not perfect. While the recently acquired Jake Bloss is expected to be promoted later this season, there aren’t any young pitchers on the roster worth getting excited about. José BerrÃos, Chris Bassitt and Kevin Gausman offer stability but without any promise of long-term growth. Fans should still close their eyes whenever manager John Schneider calls to the bullpen.
There also are no guarantees any of the younger players are going to pan out. Unlike Guerrero and Bichette who came before, there isn’t a can’t-miss prospect in the group. None project to become stars, but they could yet prove to be integral pieces on a team that claims it intends to contend again in 2025.
The unknown is a nice change of pace because the previous year and a half was spent complaining about the lack of hits. Most fans and critics realized a long time ago the group as assembled wasn’t good enough, and at the trade deadline the front office admitted the same by selling off their pending free agents.
Plenty of flaws still exist and the Jays face an uphill battle to become relevant in the always competitive AL East, but at least there are reasons to care again. That’s a lot more than could have been said about much of the first half.
Hey, it has to start somewhere, right?
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