Blue Jays Manager Calls Out Team's Lack of Power Hitting
In this story:
On Tuesday night, the Toronto Blue Jays dropped a 5-4 decision to the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium, losing by a single run for the second night in a row. The club did manage to put four runs on the board in defeat, but that number would likely have been higher had they mustered so much as a single extra-base hit rather than the nine singles they collected.
Though perhaps not quite as dramatically as Tuesday illustrated, the power struggles of the Blue Jays' offense have been an ongoing theme as part of their slow start to the 2026 season.
Toronto ranks 21st in Major League Baseball with 44 home runs to date and all the way down in 25th in slugging percentage (.371), well below the league average in both categories.
Those numbers mark a precipitous fall from a year ago, when the club ranked 13th in home runs (191) and eighth in slugging percentage (.427). Unsurprisingly, that disparity is reflected in run production, with the 2025 team averaging 4.93 runs per game and the 2026 squad averaging just 4.12.
Schneider Decries Blue Jays' Lack of "Slug"
John Schneider on the offence:
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) May 20, 2026
“If it’s not going to be continuous hits or productive at-bats adding on, there needs to be some slug. There needs to be extra-base hits or home runs with guys on … It seems like we’re stuck in the middle there.” #BlueJays
As the Blue Jays near the 50-game mark on the season, that power outage has manager John Schneider frustrated.
Schneider expressed as much in the aftermath of Tuesday's loss, telling MLB.com's Keegan Matheson, "If it’s not going to be continuous hits or productive at-bats adding on, there needs to be some slug. There needs to be extra-base hits or home runs with guys on … It seems like we’re stuck in the middle there.”
Some of that dip in power numbers can be explained by the departure of star shortstop Bo Bichette, whose 18 home runs, 63 extra-base hits and .483 slugging percentage went out the door when he signed with the New York Mets this past offseason. But even that only tells part of the story.
Several of Toronto's key hitters have seen their slugging numbers fade this season. At the center of it all is Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who has amassed a mere three home runs, 10 extra-base hits and a .371 slugging percentage that is more than 100 points below his career average (.490).
While Guerrero's offensive struggles have been well documented, less has been said about other Blue Jays who have failed to live up to their 2025 production.
George Springer has followed up a 32-home run campaign with just three long balls of his own. Then you have sidelined sluggers Alejandro Kirk, Addison Barger and Nathan Lukes, who combined for 48 home runs last season and have managed a total of one this year as they seek a return to health.
There is still time to turn this around - starting at the top with Guerrero. But Schneider's open acknowledgment of Toronto's power struggles points to a bench boss who knows that things need to change quickly to salvage the season. And it certainly won't be easy on Wednesday night, with baseball's ERA leader Cam Schlittler (1.35 ERA) on the mound for the Yankees.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Ben Fisher is a long-time sportswriter and baseball lover, dating back to 2008, when he was a member of the media relations team for the Toronto Blue Jays. He has covered a wide range of sports for a seemingly endless array of publications, including The Canadian Press, Fansided and The Hockey Writers. When he isn't writing about sports, he can be found coaching his equally baseball-obsessed sons' Little League teams.