I guess they will wait until tomorrow to activate Scherzer, just in case they need an extra arm tonight.

1. NYY 45-33, .577, 0.0, Streaks: 3-7, 9-11, 16-14
2. TBR 43-35, .551, 2.0, Streaks: 7-3, 13-7, 21-9
3. TOR 41-36, .532, 3.5, Streaks: 4-6, 12-8, 18-12
4. BOS 40-40, .500, 6.0, Streaks: 6-4, 12-9, 15-15
5. BAL 34-44, .436, 11.0, Streaks: 6-4, 12-8, 18-12

Doesn't look like we can completely ignore Batimore quite yet tbh.


WC

X HOU 45-33, .577, 0.0, Streaks: 7-3, 14-6, 20-10
X NYY 45-33, .577, 0.0, Streaks: 3-7, 9-11, 16-14

1. TBR 43-35, .551, 2.0, Streaks: 7-3, 13-7, 21-9
2. TOR 41-36, .532, 3.5, Streaks: 4-6, 12-8, 18-12
3. SEA 40-37, .519, 4.5, Streaks: 7-3, 9-11, 13-17
4. CLE 39-37, .513, 5.0, Streaks: 5-5, 9-11, 14-16
5. BOS 40-40, .500, 6.0, Streaks: 6-4, 12-9, 15-15

I don't think SEA/CLE/BOS are much threat to surge up too far above .500 tbh. Hopefully with Scherzer back now the Jays can get comfortably into that .550+ level at least.

By mid season run differential tends to be fairly predictive. I'm not sure that you should be writing off any of Bos/Cle/Seattle relative to the Jays chances.

too hot to hoot.

I just don't see those teams bouncing up above where they are. As far as I can tell they don't seem to have any likely expectations based on individuals underachieving significantly so far or impact guys coming back from injury.

And I only said i "hope" the jays are different - it's only a hope, but for me it's based on the fact that all the bigtime money we spent in the offseason has so far been worth literal negative value, which i think should change going forward. Not to mention vladdy has yet to tap into his expected power streak. And while we've had some borderline guys surprise in positive way (Barger, Clement, Lauer, Little, Fisher, Heineman) we've had just as many if not more completely implode (Roden, Wagner, Jimenez, Francis, Garcia, Swanson, Green), so i don't think we've received an artificial boost there either - and i'd expect even if those guys slow down some others will heat up.

So i don't think hoping on Scherzer/Santander/Gimenez/Hoffman being significantly better than negative value players the rest of the way is just pie in the sky stuff. Nor vladdy getting his power back.

then again, i'm a homer too.

The Mets have added Richard Lovelady to their bullpen. Except he now plans to go by the name Dicky Lovelady.

The jokes, they write themselves.

Also, the Blue Jays have a rich owner and a FO that is desperate to make and advance in the postseason. And the farm system is improved compared to last summer. That will likely translate into at least one or two significant additions at the trade deadline.

Some starting pitchers Kiley McDaniel mentions might be the “best fits” for Toronto (and some other teams) at the deadline:

Alcantara
Peralta
Lugo
Gallen
Kelly
Severino
Mahle
Buehler
Martinez
Fedde

The arms with the most appeal to me are probably Alcantara, Peralta, Lugo, Kelly. Maybe Gallen if he kicks it into gear in the next month.

Peralta could be a strong addition — maybe the best one on that list. Good track record, including some decent postseason work, and he’s having a good 2025 season. He has a power arm (FB averaging 94.9 MPH this year). He has an $8m club option for 2026, so he’s not just a rental.

bah.

Arden Zwelling
@ArdenZwelling
Daulton Varsho (hamstring) felt hamstring tightness while running the baes Monday. Blue Jays backing him off from running for now, but he’s still facing live pitching & taking fly balls

Club will monitor his recovery in coming days before continuing ramp up to minor-league games


cool.


Arden Zwelling
@ArdenZwelling
·
8m
Alek Manoah (Tommy John) threw 25 pitches over a one-inning live BP in Florida on Tuesday.

"It went really well," says Blue Jays manager John Schneider. "Velo was up to 95. Best he’s felt in a while."

Next step in Manoah’s build up will be a multiple-inning live BP.



Arden Zwelling
@ArdenZwelling
Yimi Garcia (shoulder) pitched an inning on Monday for the Blue Jays complex league team — he allowed a hit and struck out three, throwing 14 pitches (11 strikes).

Garcia’s scheduled to pitch next for the Dunedin Blue Jays on Thursday.

Arden Zwelling
@ArdenZwelling
·
7m
Ryan Bur (shoulder) is scheduled to pitch for the triple-A Buffalo Bisons Tuesday night.

It will be his third appearance since restarting his rehab assignment a week ago.

The next 5 starts are against RHP so I was hoping to see an all-righty lineup tonight with Kirk at DH and Schneider at 2nd. I like the idea of giving guys (especially Kirk) two days in a row off their feet, but the team might not want Schneider in the infield with Clement and Gimenez around.

Starting Gimenez against a LHP makes no sense:)

A ribbie for Clement! Way to get off the schneid.

I think Vladdy is swinging at more balls out of the zone these last few games.

Did Ned Flanders go on a date with the head of the umpire union's daughter and not have her home by midnight?

Did he accidentally not return the umpire union's lawnmower after he used it?

Did he accidentally set fire to the umpire union's mascot?

Good to see Clement moved up to #2 against a lefty. He's been mashing lefties all year.

Old friend Whit Merrifield has announced his retirement.

That was some play by Gimenez.

can we use a Designated Fielder

Nobody else makes that play. He's got great range and he gets back on his feet almost instantly.

robbie makes that play. maybe.

Lauer - WC play-in game starter - who knew.

Blue Jays 2025 starting rotation, sorted by ERA (and xFIP):

Lauer 2.01 (4.06)
Berrios 3.51 (4.26)
Bassitt 3.61 (3.49)
Gausman 4.60 (3.79)

Lauer is definitely holding his own. The other day he mentioned he's been working with a mental performance coach. It seems to be helping him.

And yes, that was a fantastic play by Gimenez. Consistently great defense is so valuable to a contending team.

Fisher should really be used in higher leverage situations right now.

Why did Fisher have to be replaced after 0.2 IP and seven pitches?

Had to save Chad Green for the key moment I guess.

coulda kept lauer in. coulda kept fisher in.

ah well.


chad green may have to be the next one out the door tho, tbh.

John Schneider just seems to make everything harder than it needs to be. With suboptimal results. He seems like a confused man.

Why did Fisher have to be replaced after 0.2 IP and seven pitches?

Who knows...

On the other hand, a five run lead is where you give the back of the bullpen a chance to get some outs.

Adding the most homer prone reliever in baseball at that moment just continues to show Schneider has no idea how to manage a bullpen.

There’s a mixed bag of issues here. On the one hand, Schneider should be cut some slack here because all of Green, Fluharty, Little and Hoffman are actually struggling. He doesn’t have a lot of good options. Having said that, the use of Fisher (one of the few arms really rolling right now) was messed up.

How the hell do you overturn that?

Maybe it’s a US-Canada thing?

That’s how you bullpen-proof a lead.

Turnbull time!

It will be inexcusable if they bring in Rodriguez now.

It should be Schultz for (hopefully) two innings if he's the one getting shipped out for Scherzer. Huge swing for the bullpen.

Still can't believe they overturned that. Holy. New york has no shame.

No sooner do I say that and he had Rodriguez warming.

Has not had

Unbelievable.

So he takes Fisher out after 7 pitches for no reason. Then when the Jays extend the lead, instead of keeping Green in the game in a spot that’s more appropriate for him, he goes to another RP which forces him to use Yariel in a 5 run game:

Absolute masterclass in how to mismanage a bullpen. How much of this is Schneider or the front office has to be questioned at this point. Montoyo was equally baffling with bullpen decisions.

Classic John Schneider. With Scherzer pitching tomorrow on a pitch limit, the Blue Jays get a great starting pitching performance, score 10 runs and amass a big lead over the opposition, and the manager burns through five relievers, including three high-leverage ones.

That sums it up nicely.

The Fisher usage was a mess (mostly he shouldn’t have been used there in the first place). I thought pulling Green for Schultz was the right call. Using your best leverage reliever tonight was inexcusable.

Nice to get a win here, but wow Schneider's bullpen decisions are atrocious. For the Jays sake I hope Scherzer can give them some length tomorrow night. I don't know how Jays relievers aren't taking turns going on the IL like Dodgers pitchers with how often they are used.

Caleb really tore into Schneider for that on the post game show

Blair & Barker had a Cleveland guy on their show today talking about how the Guardians won't allow a reliever other than Clase to throw 25 pitches in an inning. Schneider used Garcia for 32, 24, and 28 pitches in consecutive appearances.

Bringing Yariel in up 5 is just what Schneider does - managing scared. His reason will be that he was already hot.

Not sure what the issue would be with using Fisher in a 4-1 game.

I’ve been defending Schneider more often than not on bullpen usage this year but his overusing his best leverage guys in low leverage situations is a massive fail.

His reason for using Fisher (the real reason) is that he hasn’t yet realized that, right now, he’s the second best leverage arm that he’s got.

Then when the Jays extend the lead, instead of keeping Green in the game in a spot that’s more appropriate for him, he goes to another RP which forces him to use Yariel in a 5 run game:

Green was throwing meatballs. Even after the 3-HR, everything he was chucking was middle-middle.

Even if you send Green back out for the bottom of 8th, he's not finishing the game. So you were going to need to burn Paxton Schultz for the 9th even if by some miracle Green gets you 5 outs.

The Jays pen just isn't looking great right now. Fluharty might need to be sent down. I've been defending keeping Green for salary reasons alone, but he definitely deserves the Swanson treatment. Brendon Little is wild and runs up pitch counts with every appearance now. Even Yariel got tagged tonight. Sandlin is just coming back. Hoffman seems broken. Schultz needed 30 pitches just to pitch an awful 8th with a 6 run lead.

This pen has suddenly no high trust relievers.

They desperately need some new blood with Garcia and Burr on the way back.

The GM and the VPs aren't making pitching changes. Walker has probably some input but he's not the one calling the shots.

Schneider needs to learn how to “be cool” and give his pitchers some more rope — but without letting them go through arm-shredding innings as he did with Gausman and Yimi earlier this season.

What's interesting is that Schneider's 2026 option was not picked up (unless I missed it), so he's literally fighting for his job this season, which might explain why he manages every game like it's life or death. For him, it might be. There's definitely a strong element of "managing scared".

I assume you're saying Fisher is 2nd only to Yariel right now, but he wasn't going to Hoffman in the 6th so it was Fisher or Little and that's matchup (and bench) dependent.

Yes second to Yuriel. 4-1 in the 6th is medium leverage. I would have thought it was Schultz, Green or Fluharty up first in that situation.

So, if Scherzer goes around 4 innings tomorrow in a somewhat close game, who pitches innings 5-9 for the Blue Jays? I guess Little, Hoffman…probably Yariel and Fisher again as well.

Nah, the circle of trust right now is Hoffman-Rodriguez-Little-Fisher so it was always going to be one of those 4 in the 6th inning of a 4-1 game.

Bases loaded no outs for the Reds vs. Yankees in the bottom of the 11th.

Sandlin will be available tomorrow as well.

Yanks lose.

Love to see the Yankees lose. The Blue Jays are going to win the division.

Rodon has got his career back on track, though. 6 shutout innings tonight and a 2.92 ERA on the season. Let’s see if he can stay healthy.

I’m guessing they’ll use Turnbull if Scherzer can’t give them 5. Once they get past the 5th, and assuming they are either leading or it’s close, then Sandlin, Little, and Hoffman is probably where they go. Since Fisher only threw 7 pitches, he’s probably available as well.

Burr had another clean inning tonight. His 3rd rehab outing. Might be in play for a callup soon.

I have the same opinion of Schneider now as after his first half season as manager. He does not understand timing or momentum and arcs with pitchers. He manages a game not a season and most baffling to me is that the players seem to love him, apparently.

He has hands down mismanaged the bullpen more than any other Blue Jays manager in the 25 or so years I've been watching. I thought he was the perfect manager for this front office because he was a good communicator (code for bullshitter for the GM) which was something Montoyo and Gibbons couldn't or wouldn't do. I remember Carlos Tosca doing things that I felt were done because they just seemed like defensible decisions rather than for strategic reasons.

This season has been his worst with the abuse of Hoffman, Garcia and Gausman. If the Jays are in the playoffs I expect a 4-5 inning or (twice through the order) limit set by Schneider. Maybe I'm hard on him but those pulls from his first playoff games which led to the collapse were just inexcusable.

Two of those four in your circle of trust are pitching poorly and if you have to go to your circle of trust up 3 in the 6th then your circle of trust won’t make it to September. But sure otherwise.

Looks like Jays are trading Colby Martin a converted reliever who throws super hard for Robinson Pina a AAA swingman sort of guy with 1 career innings. I don't consider relievers prospects generally but dislike how much this front office seems to value these 6th starter types. What does Pina give the Jays that Easton Lucas doesn't? I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong and Pina is useful but for me, if you need a starter go get a starter not dabble in this Lucas, Turnbull, Urena, and now Pina pool.

The most valuable thing about Pina potentially is that he's optionable for the next 3 seasons.

If he can provide competitive spot start innings, that's a valuable resource. Just preventing the bullpen days nonsense we've seen for 12 weeks.

That's one advantage over guys like Turnbull or Urena that are out of options. Or even Eric Lauer for that matter.

Lauer has only been valuable (and he has been VERY valuable) because he succeeded right away and has remained successful. But the out of options guys like Turnbull and Urena have to be valuable right off the bat, otherwise they get cut.

And there's nowhere to send them other than back to free agency.

At least with a guy like Pina, you can yank him up and down as needed. And potentially has 2.5 years to show if he has anything.

That being said, if they are just going to use him as another low velo sinkerball middle reliever, meh.

Huh. I guess his stuff isn't great but in general Pina's track record is the type i'd have been excited about as an under the radar guy if he was in our system.

A (20): 26gms, 4.2ip/gm, 30.7k%, 100era-, 85fip-, 90xfip- (age aprop.)

Covid (21)

A (22): 4gms, 5.7ip/gm, 37.5k%, 6.8b%, 35era-, 70fip-, 65xfip- (old)
A+ (22): 13gms, 4.4ip/gm, 34.6k%, 16.7b%, 100era-, 97fip-, 95xfip- (slightly old)
AA (22): 4gms, 3.8ip/gm, 28.6k%, 11.7b%, 230era-, 212fip-, 122xfip- (age aprop)

A+ (23): 18gms, 4.5ip/gm, 34.9k%, 7.2b%, 84era-, 72fip-, 75xfip- (old)
AAA (23): 3gms, 1.2ip/gm, 18.5k%, 25.9b%, 539era-, 394fip-, 209xfip- (age aprop)

A+ (24): 8gms, 1.4ip/gm, 40.0k%, 8.9b%, 19era-, 45fip-, 59xfip- (Old)
AA (24): 19gms, 3.3ip/gm, 22.7k%, 11.7b%, 72era-, 81fip-, 88xfip- (old)
AAA (24): 7gms, 3.3ip/gm, 11.7k%, 17.5b%, 136era-, 127fip-, 235xfip- (slightly old)

Traded to PHI

AA (25): 19gms, 5.3ip/gm, 25.3k%, 3.1b%, 95era-, 86fip-, 81xfip- (old)
AAA (25): 6gms, 4.8ip/gm, 19.4k%, 10.9b%, 102era-, 110fip-, 103xfip- (old)

Signed by MIA

AAA (26): 13gms, 4.4ip/gm, 22.2k%, 6.2b%, 79era-, 83fip-, 93xfip-
MLB (26): 1gms, 1.0ip/gm, 0.0k%, 0.0b%, 215era-, 394fip-, 148xfip-


None of his teams seem to have taken him too seriously, holding him back at and making him repeat lower levels despite having promotion worthy numbers. They didn't even bother taking a real look at him as a reliever. Didn't help that he got beat up in each of his first stints in AA, AAA, and MLB.

But the numbers look like they have potential, especially considering they mostly come as a starter. Not sure why none of his teams gave him a serious look as a reliever tho - his 93 fastball / 83 slider repertoire would seem to be the kind to play up out of the bullpen.

I like the add tbh.

Hmm and now twitter tells me he's got a plus splitter. Even better.

Doesn't look like we can completely ignore Batimore quite yet tbh.

Nah. They're done.
We're at the half mark. Playing as a 100 game winning team the rest of the way would bring them around 85 wins.
That's an impossible ask given the rotation and they have the kind of GM who will take the opportunity to sell at the deadline.

They could still be annoying in a series though.

We're playing Boston on Friday and it looks like we're missing Crochet.
After losing a series to the Pale Hoses, every game is a big game.

The outcome for converter relievers hasn't been great.
Martin doesn't seem to have much control.
I don't mind that trade. What I don't like is when Atkins trade for relievers who are having a down year.

The best option for adding Scherzer is likely adding Santander to the 60-day DL. And sending down a reliever (probably Schultz).

Another option is sending down a reliever, recalling Bloss, adding him to the 60-day, and then activating Scherzer. Less likely, though, as Bloss would accrue MLB service time.

Or they could designate Will Robertson and hope to flip him for a low-level, non-40-man asset if another team wants to take a flyer on his exit velo promise and 3 options.

I would guess Schultz goes down to clear a spot on the active roster, and Turnbull probably gets a bit more time to prove himself. Easton Lucas seems a likely DFA candidate, given his terribleness at AAA and Lauer's success. Maybe Justin Bruihl, unless the Jays are thinking they want him as a backup in case Fluharty's struggles continue.

Gallen got roughed by the White Sox today (5 ER in 5.1 IP). He struck out two and walked two. He’s not doing much to boost his trade value.

wow, they DFA'd Turnbull.

I'm loving the more ruthless actions of the FO this year. Having the FO all needing to earn their next contract seems to be paying dividends by actually prioritizing wins over asset-collecting.

I have no way of knowing one way or the other but its also possible that Turnbull was DFA'd in conjunction with what he wanted. There is no place in the rotation for him right now and I had understood that Turnbull wanted to be a starter.

Absolutely the right move. Turnbull's stuff was awful and even if/when Jays need another starter, I wouldn't want Turnbull in that spot.

"And, like that, he's gone."

40-man pitchers (Options in brackets)

RH Gausman
RH Berrios
RH Bassitt
RH Scherzer
LH Lauer

RH Hoffman
RH Rodriguez
RH Green
LH Little (2)
RH Fisher (3)
RH Sandlin (3)
LH Fluharty (3)
RH Schultz (3)

RH Garcia* - had first rehab outing on monday
RH Burr (1) - 3 rehab outings this past week
RH Francis (1) - put on 15-day DL 11 days ago
RH Manoah (2) - threw live batting practice yesterday, should start rehab soon
LH Lucas (2) - put on 7-day DL 9 days ago
LH Bruihl (1)
RH Pina (3)
RH Macko (2)

(Out for season: RH Bloss, RH Bastardo)

It's the wrong move for tonight's game though. Why not just see if Scherzer can actually pitch at the MLB level and then DFA Turnbull after the game? Worrying about fungible assets on the 40 is silly.

Agree - I thought the timing was 24 hours early.

I guess there was no need to worry about a scenario where Scherzer can only go 4 or fewer innings?

Who's the emergency pitcher if tonight goes sideways - Ernie?

Arden Zwelling
@ArdenZwelling
·
3m
Daulton Varsho resumed running in the outfield today after experiencing some hamstring tightness while running the bases on Monday.

Blue Jays sent Varsho for an MRI, which revealed some scar tissue irritation but nothing structural. Hope is he’ll get back to running bases soon

Last 5 days pitches thrown, starting with yesterday:

Little: 0 0 18 0 17
Hoffman: 0 0 21 0 14
Sandlin: 0 0 21 0 19
Fisher: 7 0 4 0 19
Fluharty: 13 0 0 0 35
Green: 14 0 0 12 19
Yariel: 11 0 10 5 0
Schultz: 29 0 0 0 0 (40)

“ It's the wrong move for tonight's game though. Why not just see if Scherzer can actually pitch at the MLB level and then DFA Turnbull after the game? Worrying about fungible assets on the 40 is silly.”

But what do you have in mind? They had to open up a spot both on the 40-man and on the active roster. So someone had to get DFA’d and someone had to get off the active roster. If you DFA Bruihl and send Schultz down, who do you call up when you ditch Turnbull?

Who would they bring up if they sent Schultz down? Didn't they just trade for Pina for that very purpose?

Oh, just realised I forgot about Burr. He’s the guy to call up in the scenario where Bruihl has been DFAd and Schultz isn’t eligible to come back up.

But I still think the way they did it makes sense. If Scherzer stinks and the bullpen gets burned today you can still send Schultz down for Burr or Bruihl. And Turnbull was not looking like a better option than Macko or Piña.

You keep Turnbull until Garcia or Burr are ready, or you just call up Pina or Macko. Who the 8th RP is matters very little.

There's a very real cost to burning through your bullpen arms the 2nd day of a stretch of 16 straight.

Let's hope Scherzer can give them 4 innings.

I assume that Schultz is down for tonight and they'd probably prefer to avoid Rodriguez (4th game in 5). With no other multi inning relievers, if Scherzer goes 3 or less they will toast their pen for the next day or two.

Burr won't solve any roster management problem since he's on the 60IL.

Shi Davidi
@ShiDavidi
Manager John Schneider on decision to DFA Spencer Turnbull: "Just looking at where his stuff was and kind of the runway we were able to give at this point, it kind of just didn't align with what we had hoped for, really, is the best way to put it."

if the bullpen is overworked tonight, they could just swap in Pina and Bruihl tommorrow for Schultz and Fluharty.

I’m not worried about the bullpen tomorrow (and they can’t bring Bruihl back that quickly). It’s about the longer term effect on the guys you’re carrying now, presumably because they’re your best options.

Rodriguez better be down tonight.

Shi Davidi
@ShiDavidi
·
4m
Daulton Varsho underwent a precautionary MRI last night after experiencing tightness in his left hamstring while running "and everything was fine," said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. "Nothing new, nothing crazy. Probably just a little bit of scar tissue irritation."

Shi Davidi
@ShiDavidi
·
6m
Varsho did some running in the outfield today - along with hitting live and throwing - and will return to running the bases in the next few days, Schneider added.

"It probably just set him back a day or so," he said.

SS Bichette
RF Barger
1B Guerrero
C Kirk
DH Springer
CF Lukes
3B Clement
LF Roden
2B Gimenez

Roden last 6 starts: 18pa, 11.1b%, 16.7k%, .462babip, .400avg, .200iso, 186wrc+

He might get a bit of a run of playing time here against a bunch of RHP until varsho is back. Would be the perfect time to keep hitting to separate himself offensively from Clase. Clase's ability to play CF isn't really needed with both Varsho and Lukes back.

More to the point, notwithstanding his physical tools, Clase hasn't played defence in such a way as to suggest that he should be playing CF over Lukes (or even Roden for that matter). For all the banging on about Clement starting against RH's, its actually Clase that should be sitting with Lukes and Roden both playing in the OF.

For all the banging on about Clement starting against RH's, its actually Clase that should be sitting with Lukes and Roden both playing in the OF."

They both should be sitting sometimes against righties and Roden should be getting run everyday. The frustration around Clement is that he literally never sits against a righty. Like, if Jays wanted to play Clase today, it would be Roden or Lukes sitting.

I'd rather Schneider get ABs against RHP than Clase, tbh

but Clement's been rewarding the manager by hitting RHP lately too. Up to a 94wrc+ vRHP this month, matching his 92wrc+ vRHP since he became a Jay. With his defense, that more than plays.

Clase also at 95wrc+ vRHP in his brief career so far, but unlike Clement that doesn't come with elite defense.

Based on Gameday, looks like Scherzer competed well after a rocky start to the inning. 95 to close it out is impressive.

great tag, bo.

How did Scherzer look? Seems like a pretty good first outing after a long recovery from his thumb injury. Hopefully he feels OK after throwing 83 pitches.

stuff looked good. command was off.

cleveland's defense really makes me appreciate ours.

Give that nerd a raise. It didn't even look conclusive until the last replay they showed after the call had already been overturned.

Springer's 2-run single was a cool swing, like he swatted out at the ball.

Way to do a job Ernie! And look at those wheels on Kirky.

this would be a good time for the bullpen to do a nice tody job.

lol first batter homerun as I was typing.

Little would be a good choice B7

I think Carlos Febles has done an under the radar great job this year.

Good call. It's hard to remember times he's really messed up.

Not a fan of pinch running there for Kirk when he wasn't the lead runner, but it worked out.

The acoustics in the park tonight are hilarious.

Oh Ernie, make em pay...

Well, I guess pinch running didn't work out after all. Sure would've been nice having Kirk up there in the 10th.

Lots of good in that ballgame, just come back and win the series tomorrow.

Costly play in the bottom of the 10th when Gimenez didn’t cover first base. Had the Blue Jays gotten the out, they could have put Ramirez on, creating a bases loaded, one out situation. Which is a lot better than bases loaded, none out, Ramirez at the plate.

Maybe don't use your best reliever up 5 runs?

Don’t understand what the benefit was pinch running for Kirk as he wasn’t even the lead runner and the go ahead run was already at 2B. Heineman leading off the 10th was one of those “the Baseball God’s will make sure you pay for this later”, and it happened.

Otherwise winnable game but couldn’t get it done. If Santander is out for a while then I really hope they add a bat at the deadline.

The sins of the bullpen management yesterday definitely laid bare tonight. Scherzer looked pretty decent so take the positive from that.

Costly play in the bottom of the 10th when Gimenez didn’t cover first base.

On the wide angle replay, Gimenez was covering the runner on 2nd at the time of the pitch/contact play with the bunt.

So it wasn't that Gimenez wasn't covering 1st, he was in full sprint trying to get from standing on 2B to covering 1B with Vlad charging in.

It seems more like an error in having Gimenez covering 2nd trying to keep the lead runner close instead of Bichette combined with Vlad playing on the infield grass protecting against a bunt.

I think I'm going to need to learn how to spell this.

M-I-S-I-O-R-O-W-S-K-I

I think I got it now.

I wasn't impressed that, when a reporter asked him about the play at first base in the bottom of the ninth, Schneider subtly threw Heineman under the bus, suggesting that he should have made the throw to first base notwithstanding that Gimenez was in mid-sprint to cover the bag at the time. Schneider didn't take any ownership of the decision to have Gimenez stay close to second base prior to the bunt, which meant that Gimenez had a very long way to run to cover first base after the batter bunted.

This was reminiscent of the decision to pull Berrios in the WC game against Minnesota, where in his post-game comments Schneider did not take full responsibility for the decision (he implied that the decision might not have been his alone).

I've seen this tendency in other workplace contexts. It definitely doesn't earn the employee or manager who fails to take responsibility respect on the part of their colleagues (although it might help them survive longer in the workplace).

If they used Sandlin in the 9th inning on Tuesday, and could have rolled with Rodriguez, Little, and Hoffman yesterday, then they likely win that game. It’s stuff like that where Schneider is generally awful, which comes back to bite the Jays later. I’ve said before a team with a thin margin for error can’t afford to have a manager like Schneider, so we just have to hope the talent can compensate over the course of the season.

Clement had a WPA of -.249 last night. Not as bad as Roden's -.299.

The Jays took my suggestion from last week and moved Lukes into the 2 hole today, with Barger batting 4th. Clement is batting 5th, and unfortunately it probably makes sense.

Clement came up in two huge spots last night (bases loaded 1 out in a tie game, and then 2nd/3rd 2 out in extras), both against RHP, and it resulted in a K and a weak GB. His wRC+ against RHP on the year is now 58 (.035 ISO), and since May 1st it's 84 (.058 ISO). Of course the issue there is that the team didn't have a logical piece to pinch hit for him, but the bigger issue is that pinch hitting for him even if that piece existed was probably not something the manager would have done.

Pitching is obviously the biggest deadline need, so I hope they double down on that, but I think if they do add a hitter, then my choice would be Eugenio Suarez if available. Not only would he add much needed power to a lineup that needs it, but if the Jays are going to put Barger in RF most of the time anyway, then Suarez at 3B, Barger in RF, and Gimenez/Clement platooning at 2B makes the team a lot better.

This Jays lineup is awful which hopefully means they score 11 runs. The way the Jays handled the Santander injury still pisses me off because it was so obvious they needed to IL him two weeks before they actually did and the team kept playing him even though he was awful. Getting Varsho and Santander back would be huge for the lineup.

Suarez is indeed a perfect fit for the roster. Power wins playoff games.

Sorry for the legth of this post, but it's something I've wanted to get off my chest for some time.

This is the third time a too-early playoff pull has been brought up the past few days, twice here with Berrios and once elsewhere with Snell in the WS. Prior to those games, their analytics departments came up with their recommendations. Then it's on the manager to either follow or ignore them.

Ignoring them may well be the right call, but managers do so at their own peril. Mike Shildt found this out when he was fired after taking a 90 win Cards team into the playoffs. The official reason was "philosophical differences", but the organization’s plans to be more ambitious with the implementation of analytics was met with considerable resistance by Shildt. And Shildt acknowledged the analytics dispute in a text interview with The Athletic’s Katie Woo.

In the case of Cash, he knew analytics was a big part of the Rays continued success. Following their advice had worked out more often than not. So he followed their advice. I'm guessing someone like Dusty or Bochy could make their own call and keep their job whether or not their call worked out. Would Schneider, who was basically a rookie manager? Doubt it and I'm sure he doubted it as well.

Good point, hypobole. But that doesn’t excuse Schneider’s words last night. Caleb pointed out that the failure to get the out at first base was due to an error in how the second baseman was positioned before the play. But Schneider effectively blamed it on Heineman, saying that he should have made the throw to the in-motion Gimenez. Is this a pattern of dodging responsibility on Schneider’s part? Maybe, maybe not.

"Suarez is indeed a perfect fit for the roster. Power wins playoff games."

Agreed. I fear Santander playing through the injury for weeks likely made things worse, so he may not be back for a while. In that case, they need to add legitimate power to the lineup. Suarez at 3B and best case a healthy Santander in the final two months adds a much needed dynamic to this lineup, especially if they want to do anything in potential playoff games. A lineup that has both Gimenez and Clement playing everyday is simply not going to work, especially with the rest of the roster not being able to compensate for it from a power standpoint. A lineup with both Suarez and Santander in it is suddenly 8 deep in whatever order they choose to use (ex. Bo-Barger-Vlad-Suarez-Kirk-Springer-Santander-Varsho). Then a Gimenez/Clement platoon at 2B would be very strong.

I don't expect it to happen, but I think that's the way to go. Suarez, a starter, and a high leverage RP option. Won't be cheap.

Very well said and exactly how I've felt about this manager since his weaknesses became clear in the first year. I estimate the Jays lose a handful of winnable games every year that a better manager saves (using same flawed bullpen). A 4-5 game swing is immense in this division. That's the obvious loss I see but then there are the intangibles that come from non analytics and managers that can simply get more out of people. Is there an alternate universe where another manager does things differently to get his best hitter to hit more than 11 HR? I think so.

The onus is on the players to perform and on the manager to maximize that performance.

Mitch Bannon of The Athletic offered three interesting names (one of which I suggested the other day) as prime trade targets for the Blue Jays: Peralta, Detmers, Suarez.

They would cost a lot in prospects, but Peralta + Suarez + a good leverage bullpen arm would be a tremendous haul for Toronto at the deadline.

magnificent at bat by Lukes.

he's been off a bit since coming back but that was lovely.

Clement getting babipped a bit vs a RHP today.

He just isn't clutch.

Lukes is a solid player to have in the starting lineup against a RHP. Clutch single today. An add-on fourth run would have been nice, especially with Gausman struggling of late, but 3-0 and a climbing Bibee pitch count is a great start to the game.

Just making up for all the luck he's had recently dinking hits all over the diamond.

attaboy gausman

Love it.

It's bizarre seeing your excellent defensive SS move to 1B out of necessity.

Wagner is 8/33 with 4doubles 0 HR 6BB 5K since returning to Buffalo.

Is Vladdy injured?

Really hope Vlad being removed for precautionary reasons...

ball hit him in the back arm. elbowish.

X-rays negative for both J-Ram and Vlad.

<will Heinneman injure himself worse by staying in this game and be out longer? Precedent this year says yes.

please bring gausman out for the 8th.

Did Cleveland hit Vlad on purpose? Why are they going after him?

massive bounceback performance by Gaus after getting absolutely pummeled last time out (and being generally up and down all year).

good stuff.

don't screw it up, Hoffman.

Looks like Gausman wore his big boy pants after all.

Gimenez starting to get a bit frustrating.

That was a very obvious spot for a bunt.

sweet add-on runs.

and Clase continues to contribute in a variety of ways.

Cleveland has some good players (Ramirez, Kwan, Smith) but they aren’t all that impressive a team. If this score holds, they’ll have a -32 run differential this year.

big strikezone all around today. ump wants to hit a patio i think.

Big win and great effort by Gausman. Keep on Rolling!

I don't think Vlad was hit on purpose, teams are trying to pitch him inside. However it was the second game in a row that he was hit. So Gausman took care of business with the first pitch of the next inning.

Eh the first was a straight fastball to his back.

Big time effort from Gausman today. Glad to get the series win after the disappointing loss last night.

"Clement came up in two huge spots last night ( bases loaded 1 out in a tie game, and then 2nd/3rd 2 out in extras), both against RHP, and it resulted in a K and a weak GB."

Well, in the game I was watching last night, Clement hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth with the bases loaded that scored Kirk and put the Jays ahead temporarily at 4-3. People seem to either really like Clement or use stats to put him down. Personally, I think he is a good hitter and great fielder and should be in the lineup nearly every day.

I like Clement and Roden and they both left a lot of runs out there last night.

Wander Franco found guilty of sexual abuse of a minor in the D.R. I'm positive we'll never see him in an MLB game again.

You’re probably right hypobole, but there was a time in my life when I thought betting on baseball would lead to a lifetime ban from baseball. We now live in a world in which moral lines seem to have little meaning if there is economic, political or other gain at stake.

Practically, with a guilty verdict, unlikely Franco is ever able to get a visa plus when things are this reprehensible, teams usually stay away. (Trevor Bauer as example).

Fun game - sadly didn't remember it was an afternoon game so I missed it. Sigh. For those who missed it - the two HBP's are at MLB.com and, yeah, I'm certain Gausman did that on purpose as is pretty much everyone. You can't hit Vlad twice and not expect it.

Fun to see Kirk & Vlad are in round 2 of the All-Star Voting. Vlad #1 at first, Kirk #2 behind the plate and odds are that is how it will end up in the end. NL First had Freeman and Alonso - cheering on the guy who plays for Canada obviously. Teoscar is among the NL OF finalists.

As to the trade ideas - Arizona is only 3 out of the playoffs right now so I doubt Suarez is available, but if they fall further back who knows? He is only under team control for 2025 then a free agent - 143 OPS+ at 3B but is a very high K guy (214 in '23) which isn't something the Jays like. If the price is right, you bet I'd like him but I can't see it. Freddy Peralta would be sweet but no chance as Milwaukee is in playoff position and he is a solid #1/ace. Reid Detmers is with the Angels and they are (shock of shocks) just 1 out of the playoffs right now so again, I don't see it happening. Teams out of it are the A's, White Sox, O's, Atlanta, Miami, Nationals, Pirates, Rockies. The O's and Atlanta probably feel they can get back into it (7 out of the wild card) if things break right but come July 31st they might be saying 'screw it' and go into dump mode.

I have to think the pen is #1 right now - find a very strong setup man/closer to provide backup for Hoffman/Garcia/Rodriguez, ideally a left handed guy as I know my faith in Little and Fluharty is not high. A high end starter would be nice, but expensive. Another slugger would be nice, but where to play him? Clement/Barger will share 3B once everyone is healthy (if ever) while Varsho will take over CF, DH and one corner split between Santander & Springer, leaving LF - Lukes/Schneider at the moment I'd assume with Straw the spare OF. So a slugging RF/LF might be an option, but with Lukes/Schneider/Roden/Clase plus in AAA Robertson/Loperfido/Schreck/Pinango all showing decent stats at least do you really want to spend a fortune on it? If a strong RH hitting LF is there then go for it, but I doubt they'll find a cheap one. Wonder if Boston has given up and would trade Rob Refsnyder (RH corner OF 34 years old, 141 wRC+ this year in 104 PA, 102 lifetime, free agent post 2025, only making $2.1 mil this year. Might be a good fit.

Yeah, I think the top need to improve the team is a true ace #1 sp better than anyone in our rotation: but those are rare and costly and probably not likely to be acquired.

The #1 realistic improvement pieces are good RP to fit somewhere in to our high leverage arms. Those can be harder to judge, but much cheaper and easier to acquire.

I don't think any position players are needed, absent new injuries, and I think healthy Santander and Varsho will help, and we currently have enough depth (knock on wood) with the other OF pieces, and position flexibility (outside C) with people who can fill in in IF too.

Good post. There is a possibility that the Blue Jays could have significant internal improvements over the next couple of months if Santander, Varsho, Tiedemann, and Manoah can rejoin the team and be productive.

If our top four SPs are healthy and pitching well, then they could cover our playoff rotation. But a lot could happen between now and then in terms of health or other struggles. Having someone like Freddy Peralta on the roster could end up being quite valuable (and Peralta is controllable through 2026, so he could replace Bassitt in next year's rotation).

If Santander isn't healthy, the team will probably need another strong RH bat (like Suarez) so that it doesn't have to rely on Davis Schneider to assume that role in the postseason.

Some possible RP trade targets include Jhoan Duran, Ryan Helsley, and Reid Detmers. If he's available, Duran might be costly in terms of prospect capital because he's controllable for a few seasons.

I am not normally an "eye for an eye" proponent, but was glad Gausman responded the way he did. Cleveland's game plan was to pitch Vlad hard inside, and if he wound up being hit accidentally on purpose, so be it. Bibee's explanation after the game that they weren't going to let him lean over the plate was absurd.

“When you make $500 million dollars, you’re not going to be able to lean out over the plate. It just is what it is. I wasn’t trying to hit him.”

Guerrero had hit his 11th homeruns the day before. There's no reason to bean him.
It would be more logical for the Jays to bean Kwan since he always ends up on base and it takes a dozen pitches.

two fastballs, first in his back, the next way inside.

it demanded a response, and that's why Gausman's obvious blatant retaliation only got a warning, and barely a peep from the other dugout, because the umps and guardians knew exactly what happened.

Gausman's response got more than a peep from Vogt. He came onto the field walking toward and yelling at the Jays dugout until the home plate umpire intervened.

Bibee hit VGJ with a sinker. It's interesting that he tends to throw the sinker inside to right-handed hitters a lot, and throws it more off the plate inside at about hand level than down and on the outside corner.

If you're going to throw it there on purpose, you ought to be required to have sufficient control that you don't hit a player way off the plate. The robo umps would help with identifying how far off the plate a pitch was and whether the pitcher met the standards for ejection for dangerous loss of control.

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/tanner-bibee-676440?stats=statcast-r-pitching-mlb

SP clearly number one need for me and someone who can be a top-3 starter and under some control. Jays rotation next year right now is Gausman, Berrios, and a bunch of rookies/guys coming back from TJ surgery and Gausman is gone the year after that. Freddy Peralta or Edward Cabrera are my favourite targets. Alcantara too unless he's valued as an ace rather than the really good starter he is. There probably will be other guys available too. Mitch Keller for example or Sonny Gray if Cards slip out of it, etc...

Kind of true what Bibee says though. If you're making Soto or Ohtani money why do you need to cheat over the plate? Not a justification for hitting him but a fair call out.

It should be mentioned that Peralta may not be available unless the Brewers fall out of the postseason race. They are currently holding down the WC2 position and have a +48 run differential. Arizona (Merrill) seems like a more probable trade partner at the moment.

vRHP this year

DH Springer 212pa 138wrc+
3B Barger 170pa 129wrc+
1B Guerrero 269pa 129wrc+
C Alejandro 193pa 124wrc+
SS Bichette 285pa 112wrc+
CF Varsho 81pa 146wrc+
RF Lukes 151pa 111wrc+
LF Clase 75pa 90wrc+
2B Gimenez 151pa 90wrc+

UT Santander 159pa 71wrc+
OF Straw 80pa 71wrc+
IF Clement 187pa 57wrc+
C Heineman 50pa 111wrc+

UT Wagner 62pa 42wrc+
OF Roden 97pa 64wrc+
IF Stefanic 20pa 56wrc+
C Sanchez 10pa -55wrc+

UT Schneider 17pa 34wrc+
OF Robertson 10pa -18wrc+


vLHP

DH Springer 78pa 121wrc+
2B Clement 88pa 236wrc+
1B Guerrero 77pa 175wrc+
C Alejandro 68pa 127wrc+
SS Bichette 80pa 96wrc+
CF Straw 68pa 99wrc+
LF Schneider 42pa 105wrc+
3B Barger 34pa 95wrc+
RF Lukes 14pa 69wrc+

UT Santander 50pa 48wrc+
OF Varsho 19pa -59wrc+
IF Gimenez 63pa 0wrc+
C Heineman 27pa 275wrc+

UT Robertson 2pa 194wrc+
OF Clase 27pa 47wrc+
IF Wagner 6pa 157wrc+
C Sanchez 1pa 768wrc+

OF Roden 13pa 43wrc+
IF Stefanic 5pa -20wrc+




2 years:


vRHP

DH Springer 681pa 113wrc+
LF Lukes 228pa 122wrc+
1B Guerrero 827pa 153wrc+
RF Santander 644pa 117wrc+
C Alejandro 479pa 105wrc+
3B Barger 358pa 103wrc+
SS Bichette 559pa 99wrc+
CF Varsho 490pa 100wrc+
2B Gimenez 612pa 90wrc+

UT Schneider 333pa 91wrc+
OF Clase 113pa 95wrc+
IF Clement 494pa 86wrc+
C Heineman 58pa 97wrc+

UT Wagner 126pa 96wrc+
OF Straw 83pa 72wrc+
IF Jimenez 149pa 87wrc+
C Bethancourt 96pa 54wrc+

UT Roden 97pa 64wrc+
OF Loperfido 212pa 79wrc+
IF Stefanic 100pa 51wrc+
C Sanchez 75pa 15wrc+

OF Robertson 10pa -18wrc+


vLHP

DH Springer 223pa 91wrc+
3B Clement 233pa 134wrc+
1B Guerrero 216pa 170wrc+
RF Santander 230pa 107wrc+
C Alejandro 168pa 109wrc+
CF Varsho 123pa 104wrc+
SS Bichette 142pa 57wrc+
LF Straw 69pa 96wrc+
2B Schneider 180pa 63wrc+

UT Barger 71pa 54wrc+
OF Lukes 28pa 65wrc+
IF Gimenez 235pa 47wrc+
C Heineman 35pa 232wrc+

UT Wagner 28pa 79wrc+
OF Clase 58pa 55wrc+
IF Jimenez 61pa 138wrc+
C Bethancourt 51pa 88wrc+

UT Robertson 2pa 194wrc+
OF Loperfido 50pa 55wrc+
IF Stefanic 49pa 77wrc+
C Sanchez 32pa 5wrc+

UT Roden 13pa 43wrc+

Since we are pipe-dreaming for an ace, why not DeGrom/

I actually think Paul Skenes is more of a realistic trade target than most of these other guys. Pittsburgh won't be competing while he is there under contract. Offer the farm for him. You could likely get him for Tiedemann or Yesavage + Nimalla + Barger + low A pick (4 players). Then you re-sign Bo for SS. Makes a lot of sense actually.

Skenes
Gausman
Berrios
Tiedemann
Manoah

Vogt did come out but he pointed to his hip/butt several times - I interpreted that as "ok fine, you want and eye for an eye but the way to do that is to hit our star in the hip not in the hands/arm". I'm not sure what the "code" says about any of that, but I believe his beef was with where Ramirez got hit not necessarily that he was hit.

I heard on the radio post game that the throw by Gausman was at the hip but Ramirez lowered his arm into it.

Every year people push for the impossible. Skenes is NOT leaving Pittsburgh. Far, far more likely they try to sign him long term than him being traded - and he'd only be traded with 2 years left...maybe. Until then they'd be asking for the sun, moon, and stars for him.

Now, Mitch Keller seems a lot more possible - 104 ERA+, solid inning eater (over 150 each of the last 3 years), signed for 26/27/28 for $55.7 mil. For Pittsburgh that is a burden, for the Jays it is nothing. He wouldn't be cheap in prospects, but easier to see Pittsburgh trading him than Skenes. Plus he'd be a solid Bassitt replacement in 2026. David Bednar is their closer and he'd be sweet too (12.7 K/9 vs 2.6 BB/9, sub 3 ERA) and is in arbitration for 2026 before going to free agency. Dennis Santana has been solid in the middle for them, only under team control for 25/26, just 6.8 K/9 but 1.3 BB/9 and 0.3 HR/9 so that is nice. Funny, for such a bad team they have a lot of relievers having good years.

A package for a couple of relievers might make sense, but I cannot imagine them trading their big star unless forced or given an insane deal (2 top 10 prospects minimum). No hitters there worth mentioning (only Andrew McCutchen has a 100+ OPS+, barely at 106 and Nick Gonzales at 121 over 88 PA at age 21).

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder on that one. Ramirez absolutely did lean in with his arm but the pitch was also up above the hip. The pitch probably would have hit him in the ribs or the lower back if he had turned.

There's 3 unrelated things. Guys who are leaning over the plate--and Guerrero isn't one of those. Guys who make a lot of money. Pitchers who lack command.
Scherzer walked Kwan on 9 pitches to start Wednesday's game. He kept locating. Sinker low outside. Changeup outside. High fastball. High cutter. Cutter outside. Fastball low inside. Changeup inside.

Bibee had just come back to even the count to 2-2 on a sinker at the knees.
A high sinker inside doesn't make any sense in that count because it's either a ball or a foul ball.
Even if it stays over the plate, it's easier to elevate if it's inside.
In his previous AB, Guerrero had ground out on a sinker down the middle.
Bibee had thrown 2 cutters outside to Vladdy and that resulted in a ball and a swinging strike.
Vladdy had 0 hits and 0 foul balls that day.
It was a fastball count and Guerrero was probably swinging at anything close.
That is not the same thing as leaning over the plate.

If anything Bibee was pissed at Manzardo for not being able to field 1B.

Yeah, Skenes is not getting traded this year, to the Jays or anyone else. I will do the cuttlefish bet with anyone who believes he will be traded at the deadline. 

Even if Gausman was aiming for the hip, or even if Bibee was aiming for the inside corner - normal human pitchers miss their spots by six inches all the time. Greg Maddux is retired.

"not getting traded" comments are silly. It's been proven over and over that any player is tradeable. Devers, Wells and Soto have all taught me never to pretend a player can't be traded.

Mark Shapiro's seat just got warmer. He's the last President standing under Pelley.

Vlad out of the lineup today.

If it's that silly, why aren't you taking me up on my bet? Skenes won't be traded this deadline to the Jays or anyone else.

Vladdy’s injury doesn’t sound all that serious. The manager said he is getting some treatment and might be available later in tonight’s game.

I could see Skenes getting traded in a couple of years, but not now. The Blue Jays should still make an offer, though.

If I were the Pittsburgh GM, I would ask for Yesavage, Nimmala, Stephen, King, Duran, and Shaw.

I don’t think Toronto would pull the trigger on that deal.

"If it's that silly, why aren't you taking me up on my bet? Skenes won't be traded this deadline to the Jays or anyone else."

What were you offering to make it worthwhile? I'm good!

The same cuttlefish bet we've used here for many ayear.