The A’s Connection Behind Nearly Every Blue Jays Playoff Run Since 2015
In this story:
Since 2015, the Toronto Blue Jays have had their fair share of postseason appearances, making it to October baseball in six of 11 seasons, and climbing to the American League Championship Series in both 2015 and 2016 before falling to a team from the AL Central.
Five of those six postseason teams have had one thing in common, which is that a former Oakland Athletic has been playing third base for them. After not making the postseason since 1993, the Jays' second of two straight World Series titles, Toronto traded for A's All Star Josh Donaldson after the 2014 campaign.
He went on to win the AL MVP in 2015, leading the league in RBI and runs scored while adding a career-high 41 homers. Toronto won the AL East that season, making it to the ALCS, but ended up falling to the Kansas City Royals in six games. They'd make it back again in 2016, but would lose to Cleveland in five.
Donaldson would stick with the club into the 2018 season, being traded to Cleveland at the end of August, but after the 2016 campaign he largely wasn't the breakout star he'd been as injuries began to pile up.
Toronto entered a down period from 2017 to 2019, finishing with a losing record in each of those three seasons. In 2020, they'd make it back to the Wild Card round, but ended up getting swept. They'd miss the postseason again in 2021, and there was only one thing left to do: Trade for another A's third baseman.
They Can't Keep Getting Away with This
Following the 2021 season, the A's had missed the playoffs and their core was starting to leave via free agency. It was clear that another teardown was coming, but first, A's fans had to suffer through the lockout, which ended up March 10. On March 16, the A's traded Matt Chapman to the Blue Jays, just days after trading current Jay, Chris Bassitt, to the New York Mets.
Chapman was with the club for two seasons, in 2022-23, and he stayed steady at the plate while providing Gold Glove caliber defense at third base. Back in Oakland, both Donaldson and Chapman had made plays diving into the tarps down the third base line, so A's fans are very familiar with the types of gloves they have.
While Chapman wasn't the lightning rod for the offense that Donaldson had been, he was still a solid player for Toronto, and the Jays made it back to the postseason in each of his seasons with the club. Unfortunately, they ended up getting swept out of the WIld Card round in each of those years. Chapman would end up signing with the San Francisco Giants in free agency.
Then Something Weird Happened
At the end of the 2022 season, the A's brought in infielder Ernie Clement off waivers from Cleveland, and in his six games with the club, he went 1-for-18 (.056) and looked completely overmatched at the plate, chasing balls down and out of the zone. It was no surprise that the A's released him in March of 2023.
He found a new home just two days later, signing with the Blue Jays and spending most of the 2023 season tearing up Triple-A Buffalo. In 72 games, he ended up hitting .348 with a .401 OBP and 11 home runs. He got a little bit of a showcase with Toronto that year, and went 19-for-50 (.380), which helped earn him a role in 2024 as the team's third baseman.
Even with a former A's player manning the hot corner for them, the 2024 Toronto Blue Jays failed to make the postseason. Perhaps they crossed some wires in the universe when both Clement and Chapman were on the roster in 2023.
Well, that all got sorted out this season, because the Jays not only made the postseason, but now they're headed to the World Series to face the Los Angeles Dodgers. This is the first postseason action that Clement has seen in his career, and he's gone 18-for-42 (.429) with a home run, a triple, three doubles and seven RBI.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is getting the acclaim, and George Springer hit the big shot to put them into the World Series, but Clement has been a tough out in his own right.
One Very Serious Question Remains
While the Blue Jays won't have to worry about this issue in the near future with Clement under team control through the 2028 campaign, there is one question that is on everyone's minds: Is this magic due to these three players coming from the A's, or the fact that they each had played at the Oakland Coliseum?
The next time Toronto misses the postseason, it would be easy to say, "just go get another A's third baseman." That could still work. But if the magic is at the Coliseum, then Toronto may be in trouble. Perhaps they could attempt to get the Pioneer League's Oakland Ballers into a game in front of Mount Davis, and then sign the third baseman from that game?
The A's have had an impact on the Blue Jays' runs to the postseason for just over a decade. Now the team's relocation could play a role in Toronto's future.
Get every piece of A's news by following us on Twitter/X!
Jason has been covering the A’s at various sites for over a decade, and was the original host of the Locked on A’s podcast. He also covers the Stanford Cardinal as they attempt to rebuild numerous programs to prominence.
Follow byjasonb