'About Time': 2022 Blue Jays Embrace Expectations

All quiet on set.

The cast of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s feature film trickled onto manicured turf Thursday afternoon, hours before Opening Day.

First Cavan Biggio popped out of the dugout, glove in hand, then Teoscar Hernández, then Guerrero, Bo Bichette, and the rest of the cast and crew. The entire production gathered in centerfield—a team predicted for postseason or higher by just about every meaningful publication on either side of the border.

World Series odds slate them second in the game. ESPN’s predictions have the Jays a near-consensus AL East champ, a likely league winner, and only second to the Dodgers in title talk. The Ringer gave Toronto rings, Law lauded them, and most projections systems have the Blue Jays at or near the top of division and league. Now, it’s showtime.

The cameras were in place, resting outside the dugout ready to catch a glimpse of a team expected for and expecting something more than the playoff-less 91 wins of a year prior. One by one, player, coach, and executive posted up in front of the gaggled media to acknowledge the expectations, and, in one way or another, embrace them.

“We’ve expected a lot more out of ourselves than any of you guys have,” Bichette said. “For us, I think it’s more kind of about time.”

Toronto's 24-year-old shortstop debuted in July 2019, weeks after his teammate and fellow top prospect, Guerrero, cracked the bigs. After the pair reunited in the show, the Jays finished the year with their best month of the season. The timeline was always built around the young sons, but they controlled the tempo.

The immediate and ascendant production of the hitting core earned free-agent additions. Then a trade-deadline acquisition for an Opening Day starter put the rebuild in the rearview. And now, $150 million more for a few more arms and a final trade for a flashy third baseman rounds things out.

This Toronto team now enters that sweet spot where the competitive window looks limitless, no obstacles in sight. But baseball isn’t that easy. The young guys gotta get paid, the elders get old, and there are 29 other teams trying to take you out. Every missed playoff from here on out is a missed opportunity. There’s no room for a box office flop.

"The end game is pretty clear," Toronto GM Ross Atkins said. "There are 30 teams thinking about winning championships."

Every team aims for the top, but each year there are only a few who have the trophy within realistic reach. There’s no question the Jays fall in that category this season, check any prediction or projection you want. They have the pieces and the path, now it’s on the Jays to deliver the Hollywood ending.