Blue Jays Need To Aggressively Seek Upgrades To Make Playoff Push
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The Toronto Blue Jays are a team that many people are going to be keeping a close eye on in the coming weeks.
They got off to a strong start this season, going 12-8 out of the gate, but have given all of those games back and more, with their record now sitting at 21-22.
With four losing streaks of at least three games being recorded already, the Blue Jays have been one of the streakiest teams in baseball.
Finding more consistency will be key to the team living up to expectations. There was a clear goal of making the playoffs coming into the year, but accomplishing that feat is going to be easier said than done.
Toronto is one of the fringe playoff teams in the American League, evidenced by Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report placing them at No. 18 in his rankings for each team’s chances of making the postseason.
What Are the Toronto Blue Jays Odds of Making the Playoffs?
They are the highest-ranked team in the third lowest tier along with the Milwaukee Brewers, Tampa Bay Rays and St. Louis Cardinals.
Outlets vary on how likely the Blue Jays are to be playing meaningful baseball in October.
Baseball-Reference is the most pessimistic, giving them a 14.2% chance of qualifying. FanGraphs and PECOTA are much more favorable at 32.3% and 38.3% at the time the piece was published.
The path to a Wild Card spot is much easier to navigate in the AL than the National League, with the No. 6 seeded team likely needing fewer victories to earn a spot in the playoffs.
If Toronto can hang around the playoff picture long enough, they have an ownership group and front office that will be motivated to make moves to upgrade the roster.
Some of the additions they made in the offseason, such as acquiring Andres Gimenez from the Cleveland Guardians in a trade and signing Anthony Santander away from the Baltimore Orioles in free agency, have yet to pan out.
There is also a glaring hole in left field.
The Blue Jays’ offensive struggles are a major reason why they are hovering around the .500 mark.
After making those additions to the lineup and adding Max Scherzer and Jeff Hoffman to the pitching staff, it is clear the team is willing to spend money to improve on the field.
A long-term commitment to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who signed a massive 14-year, $500 million extension earlier in the season, only solidifies their stance of spending whatever it takes to win.
That is the right mindset to have heading into an incredibly important few weeks that the team has to show signs of life in, otherwise some changes could be on the horizon.
