During the 2015 Major League Baseball (MLB) Trade Deadline, the Toronto Blue-Jays made a blockbuster move when they acquired ace pitcher David Price. The Jays would go on to reach the American League (AL) Championship Series, where they ultimately fell to the Kansas City Royals. The Royals would go on to win the World Series that year but Jays fans still relished in the success their team had that season. That time has arrived again, well kind of.
During the 2021 MLB Trade Deadline, the Jays made a blockbuster trade to acquire star pitcher Jose Berrios. The Berrios acquisition required a steep price as the Jays traded away two prized prospects, but management sent a clear message to the players, that the championship window was once again open, well kind of. The Jays are carried by their offense. Vladimir Guerrero Jr is only twenty-two years old, but he is threatening to put up a historic triple-crown season and win the AL Most Valuable Player (MVP). Bo Bichette, who is only twenty-three years old, is already recognized as an All-Star and one of the premier hitters in baseball. Marcus Semien is the veteran who has put together an all-time great season, as he is only five home runs away from hitting the most ever for his position in a single season. Teoscar Hernandez has only improved every year, going from winning a Silver Slugger in 2020 to being named an All-Star in 2021. Free agent acquisition George Springer, the World Series MVP in 2017 with the Houston Astros, has been plagued with injuries but has offered glimpses into how much more potent the already elite Jays offense could be.
With Berrios, the Jays rotation is elite. This is bolstered by pleasant surprises in left-handed ace Robby Ray and sensational rookie Alek Manoah. Ray is having a Cy-Young calibre season. After a couple of struggling seasons, Ray seems to have figured it out and that has led to him leading the entire league in strikeouts at the time of writing this article. Alek Manoah made his debut against the New York Yankees and shut them out. His poise and attitude has allowed him to make a seamless transition into the big leagues. Combined with the ever solid Hyun Jin Ryu, resurgent Steven Matz and new acquisition Berrios, the Jays have one of the best starting rotations in the league.
You would think that with an elite offense and an elite pitching rotation that the Jays would waltz into the playoffs. However, the Jays are still fighting for their spot. The window is half-open because of how elite these two parts of the team are. However, it is half-closed because of their weaknesses. The team is very young. Young teams are erratic and the Jays have proved that this year. While the Jays offense has hit the most home runs in the league, the Jays offense was at one point, one of the worst teams when it came to runs scored after the seventh inning, in the history of baseball. Although that has improved, it shows the volatility in the young Jays. The offense also has a preponderance of right-handed batters. Although this may not be too big of an issue, the variety of having some good left-handed batters makes the job of the opposing pitcher harder. Last, but certainly not least, the bullpen sucks. During its worst stretch, in six games the bullpen blew three saves, lost five games and allowed twenty three earned runs. Currently, the bullpen sits in the bottom five in saves. For a team on the fringes of playoff contention, with arguably the best offense and rotation in the league, it is extremely demoralizing as a fan when you know that the bullpen will lose the team the game, or that after the seventh inning, if the Jays are losing, that they will most likely lose.
The window is half-open. The Jays are young and with this being the result of their first full season together, the sky is truly the limit. However, it is up to General Manager Ross Atkins and President of Baseball Operations Mark Shapiro to address the issues holding this team back. Unlike the National Basketball Association, MLB players are much more receptive to money, and Canada is not an excuse. Yes, the division is stacked. The Tampa Bay Rays are using some sort of voodoo magic that turns marginal pitchers and batters into power hitters, star pitchers and consistent contributors. The Boston Red Sox have been over achieving all year but have regressed enough to create a potential three-way tie in the AL Wildcard race. The New York Yankees are sputtering, with all of the Bronx consistently booing their own team, but there is too much money and talent on that team to assume they will keep struggling. The Jays have a better offense than all three of these teams. They have better starting pitching than all three of these teams. They say that the advantage of a young team is that they do not know the pressure they are truly in. That allows them to just go out and play. However, a young team also lacks experience, leading them to potentially under-perform their talent level. Clearly the Jays are balancing themselves upon both of these factors. Hopefully that balance allows them to get into the playoffs. With October baseball, who knows what can happen next.