Not sure if anyone mentioned it elsewhere but Kendry Rojas is up for the Twins and will take Simeon Woods Richardson's slot - one ex-Jay prospect taking a job from another in Minnesota.

Rojas off to a good start - 2.45 ERA in 7 1/3 IP in relief so far but 8 H 8 BB 8 K's in those 7 1/3 IP. Yikes - that ERA is not staying that low if he doesn't find the strike zone soon.

they say never look at the standings before june. but i always do.

and june is fast approaching anyways.

is it a big series? not really but kinda yeah.

Shi Davidi
@ShiDavidi
·
50m
Blue Jays news and injury updates from John Schneider:

▪️Spencer Miles will do heavy lifting Thursday, as a starter or behind an opener; Blue Jays planning to run with him in that role for time being. “You don't want to move him back and forth too much. If we're going to do it, try to be consistent with it,” said Schneider.
Shi Davidi
@ShiDavidi
·
50m
▪️ Alejandro Kirk is progressing, caught Shane Bieber’s recent side, not hitting full BP yet; Feels thumb more hitting than catching right now, better sense of timeframe to rehab gams later this week
▪️ Bieber throwing a two-up live BP tomorrow;
Shi Davidi
@ShiDavidi
·
50m
▪️ Max Scherzer threw a 22-pitch side today, another planned Wednesday;
▪️ Addison Barger in Toronto for follow-up, seeking green light to start hitting and throwing tomorrow;
▪️Nathan Lukes begins rehab with low-A Dunedin tomorrow as DH; a couple of games in OF follow before next steps are set

There are only two MLB players with as many PA as Clement and fewer than his 12 RBI - Chase Meidroth and Steven Kwan, both with 10. Meidroth gets a pass because he's had 24 fewer runners on base, but Kwan has no excuse.

Turn that season around tonight, Ern Dog.

Goldschmidt having a year so far at age 38.

Seeing as Goldy and I were born on the exact same day…. I have very mixed feelings.

Mitch Bannon
@MitchBannon
·
10s
Believe or not, Daulton Varsho leads all AL centrefielders with 3 outfield assists this year. #BlueJays

just don't hit into a doubple play here lenyn.

that homer was Erned!

the Ern Dog, by request!

“How bout that?! On an 0-2 pitch Ernie Clement hits a 3-run HR!!!”

inconclusive dammit

not so elite D from valenzuela this inning.

#springerofgeorge

Ernie Clement, ribbie machine.

actually stringing together multiple hits in a row multiple times what is this sorcery.

hmm i really like that at bat from valenzuela.

not exactly easing macko in his mlb career here.

really pushing our luck with all these middle relievers here.

Well, that’s one way to (now probably) single-handedly lose a game.

Schneider blew this game, always trying to be too cute and obsessed with using all his relievers instead of just going with our best guys right away.

They won a couple of games and used the good relievers.

sosa getting pinch hit by gimenez as your cleanup hitter is all kinds of painful.

wow i did not expect jesus to come through there. nice.

why are you making valenzuela bunt there what is wrong with you.

Bednar has some bad numbers for a closer, especially a Yankee closer.

Vladdy getting this at bat cuz they batted him 2nd.

this is really gonna end with the bases loaded and gimenez the cleanup hitter up isn't it.

If he wanted a bunt then put Heinemanin. Good lord this game could have been won with better manager decisions.

The Jays bailed Bednar out big time there. Asking Valenzuela to bunt in that situation was a horrendous call for Schneider, and then Springer's AB was equally egregious given Bednar didn't throw a single strike (not even close) the entire at bat.

Totally agree SK on those two points. If you want a bunt, Heineman is there but please let Valenzuela swing, he has had good at bats today. Absolutely pisses me off everytime Springer tries to be a hero, Bednar was clearly struggling. I am afraid that our luck has run out, that was a game we wouldve won last year.

I'm getting tired of these close losses where your two best relief pitchers are never used. It's really simple, John, use Louie Varland more than any of your other relief pitchers. Same thing with Rogers. Conversely, do not use Rodriguez or Hoffman unless absolutely necessary.

Of course he uses Corbin, Fisher, Macko, Rodriguez and Hoffman. Doesn't use rubber-arm man Rogers or Louie who he was willing to use as an opener against the NYY last year.

First Vlad (a couple games ago), then George, both in pretty bad slumps, swinging at 3-0 balls out of the zone in crucial situations. So much for being team players..

Vlad and Springer both with horrid abs against Bednar. He threw them 12 pitches and only two in the zone and they just got themselves out. A theme of the year is these consistently bad abs by the guys who should be the best hitters.

And yes, the bunt call was also awful. Valuenzuela has 1 sac bunt in 2,664 pro PAs. I have a harder time criticizing the Yariel appearance because Jays can't use Varland and Rogers every single game. Sosa and Gimenez having the cleanup abs is dire though. Jays probably need to trade for a vs LHP guy because Schneider and Sosa are playing every game against them and they are both useless right now. Of course, this was an extremely obvious need this offseason and very easily fixable but Jays just didn't address it. Instead, team is now crowded with average LH corner OFs. So Lukes and Barger coming back help but not a whole lot because they just displace similar value players.

I looked up Varland and Rogers usage and wasn't surprised to see they are already approaching a pace that will eclipse their previous year's workload. That would explain some of the managers decisions as he likely is told before the game that these guys aren't available due to IP limits. Or he just wants to be cute.

During Springer's at-bat, he appeared to check with the umpire after each of his three swings to ask whether the pitch was in the zone - and each time, it appeared that umpire Ben May incorrectly indicated that the pitch was in the zone. I think that if Springer knew for sure that his first swing was at a ball below the zone, he wouldn't have swung at either of the next two; I'll bet he was furious with himself once he saw the video.

Cracka you beat me to it. I was going to defend George the same way. Not sure how the bench isn't hollering at him to tell him that it was way out of the zone when the ump motioned it would have been a strike (twice).

this is the first loss this year that actually made me angry.

Glevin it's true that they can't use varland and rogers every game - but with a 2 run lead in the late innings against the yankees and with neither varland or rogers overly...for me that's the game you need to use them. we might not get a similar situation to use them the rest of the series.

NYM and Toronto have the exact same record. NYM and the Toronto Blue Jays have the exact same record! The Mets had one of the worst starts ever. Bo Bichette and Vlad have almost identical HR/RBI totals.

Teams that should sell:

Giants - Devers?
Astros - Alvarez!
Angels - Trout?
Tigers - Skubal!

Of course Alvarez and Skubal would be outstanding but extremely costly. Perhaps those terrible contracts of Trout or Devers can make it a more palatable acquisition.

To be clear...Jays can likely get any ONE of these players but not more than one and yes, I know it will cost the farm and a portion of Shapiro's soul to get someone like Alvarez or Skubal.

That was a brutal loss last night. I would've rather seen a rested Hoffman than Rodriguez, but Yariel did look good on Sunday. A good case could be made for just leaving Macko in or going to Varland there as well - in an ideal situation, that was the last time the Yankees 2-3-4 stretch was coming up so Varland could have finished the 7th and then pitched the 8th against the heart of the order. Asking a guy who never bunts to do so was a terrible decision too.

Do we know what Springer was confirming with the umpire? Perhaps he was asking if it was out of the zone, and just got fooled thrice. The Jays should be absolutely furious if he was asking if it was a strike. Last night felt like one of the worst umped games all year, there were a lot of close pitches that were called incorrectly.

On the bright side, some really nice defense was flashed by Clement and Straw.

This Year vRHP

RF Straw 37pa, 154wrc+
LF Pinango 47pa, 130wrc+
CF Varsho 126pa, 117wrc+
C Kirk 17pa, 112wrc+
3B Okamoto 144pa, 111wrc+
DH Sanchez 129pa, 111wrc+
1B Guerrero 152pa, 100wrc+
2B Clement 135pa, 96wrc+
SS Gimenez 116pa, 91wrc+

C Valenzuela 55pa, 87wrc+
OF Lukes 55pa, 75wrc+
IF Schneider 37pa, 55wrc+
UT Springer 85pa, 44wrc+

IF Sosa 63pa, 20wrc+
UT Barger 24pa, 1wrc+
C Heineman 45pa, -19wrc+


vLHP

1B Guerrero 46pa, 161wrc+
DH Springer 35pa, 144wrc+
C Valenzuela 26pa, 138wrc+
LF Pinango 6pa, 132wrc+
3B Okamoto 45pa, 122wrc+
SS Clement 53pa, 107wrc+
CF Varsho 48pa, 101wrc+
2B Schneider 43pa, 81wrc+
RF Straw 48pa, 77wrc+

UT Sosa 39pa, 66wrc+
IF Gimenez 45pa, 51wrc+
C Heineman 22pa, 24wrc+
OF Sanchez 20pa, 15wrc+

UT Barger 4pa, 5wrc+
OF Lukes 1pa, -100wrc+
C Kirk 5pa, -100wrc+

2017 first overall pick Royce Lewis just got optioned to the minors after a terrible start to his season. Made me take a look at that draft and oh my it has not aged well. Only 3 players signed in the top 10 rounds have accumulated 10 bWAR..
3rd rounder  Taylor Walls has 11.3,  1st round, 2nd overall Hunter Greene 13.3. and the 2nd round produced the best player so far with 18.9. 
Anyone know who? 

92-93: I just rewatched the clip (Sportsnet keeps the game archived for 24 hours). I was mistaken, and it didn't happen after the 3-0 pitch that was strike one, but after the 3-1 pitch that was strike two, George quickly turned to the umpire, who turned and nodded "yes" to him, and then Springer responded with a look of acceptance/surprise. Dan and Joe noticed it as well - I'm certain that the umpire indicated it was in the strike zone based on the context. It also happened again after strike three.

I watched the game and heard their commentary live, and still believe it's possible that George was asking if both pitches were out of the zone.

Since it's Da Box I gotta imagine a Blue Jay on the current roster.

Vladdy - no
Okamoto - no
Ernie - no
Gimenez - ?
Kirk - no
Springer - no
Varsho - ?

Can't see any pitchers.

I thought the answer was our 2nd rounder Bichette, but alas he was a year prior.

If the ump confirmed it was out of the zone after George asked then why would Springer make that exaggerated face of disappointment and surprise?

Because he swung at a pitcher's pitch out of the zone that would have been ball 4 with first and second and one out. He was disappointed and surprised with himself. Again, just a possibility.

Last year most PA given to sub-90wrc+ hitters:

1. Gimenez 369pa, 70wrc+
2. Santander 221pa, 61wrc+
3. Wagner 132pa, 86wrc+
4. Roden 113pa, 67wrc+
5. Clase 112pa, 69wrc+
6. Jimenez 32pa, -19wrc+
7. IKF 31pa, 72wrc+
8. Stefanic 25pa, 40wrc+
9. Sanchez 21pa, 54wrc+
10. Robertson 12pa, 17wrc+

(1068pa)


This year

1. Gimenez 161pa, 80wrc+ (555pa pace)
2. Springer 120pa, 73wrc+ (414)
3. Schneider 80pa, 69wrc+ (276)
4. Sosa 69pa, 38wrc+ (238)
5. Heineman 67pa, -4wrc+ (231)
6. Lukes 56pa, 72wrc+ (193)
7. Jimenez 35pa, 83wrc+ (121)
8. Barger 28pa, 2wrc+ (97)
9. Kirk 22pa, 60wrc+ (76)

(2049pa pace)

we can assume barger and kirk won't end up there. and springer.

but we didn't do play anyone last year for anywhere near as bad performance as Sosa and Heineman have done so far.

Daulton Varsho ha been the best pick in the 2017 draft class thus far.

Varsho has been quite different so far this year, but still effective.  Fewer Ks (18% vs. 28% last year), more line-drives, more walks and many fewer home runs.  He still runs OK and has been playing pretty good defence in centerfield after a slow start in that department.  I never imagined him turning into Amos Otis, but youneverknow.

the projections were always high on Daulton mostly because they've always thought his babip would at some point revert to league average.

lo and behold, he has a .300babip this year and he's a well above average hitter as a result, even though last year's power surge has disappeared (in fact he's actually posting the lowest ISO of his career).

Mike Petriello on Baseball Central had some numbers on Varsho's arm. Last season his throws were down 10 mph from 2024 and he was worst in the majors. This season he has picked up 5 mph, so halfway back to 2024, but still one of the lowest in the league. Petriello compared Varsho's arm to Corbin Caroll.

Hot take (?): if video review is truly intended to get a call right, then the on-field call should have no bearing. Umpires are simply not good enough to warrant an assumption of likely correctness.

The reviews are meant to overturn the bad calls, not to abdicate the close ones. That's why one loses his challenge if not successful.

I'm starting to let every manager's choice make me cuckoo.

omg they actually tied it. my jaw is on the floor.

oh no they didn't my bad. lol.

Could Ernie not have moved to third on Vladdys fly ball. I know you usually go halfway but that ball looked catchable quickly.

Varland coming into another game trailing off the heels of a blown game the night before which he didn't pitch in.

Blue Jays lead baseball with 15 Blown leads. Definitely feels like a thing under John Schneider. For the love of baby jesus when you have a lead just manage like it's game 7 of the World Series.

Feels like you are losing your team, you are falling out of the race. This team needs to start winning and fast or they're going to be getting back players next month and will just be showcasing players to trade.

No such thing as "bad luck play," Caleb. That base running decision by Ernie was bad.

Honestly I'm not sure if this team has had more bad luck or self inflicted damage this year.

Right now, it feels like the team is just pretty bad. Lots of reasons for struggles, but Vlad being a pumpkin for $50M is up there. Almost everyone struggling. Some guys will get better but will it be too late? The decision to trade for Sanchez and then keep both him and Lukes instead of getting someone who could hit lefties was a baffling one at the time and will continue to cause issues because the Jays now have like 5 LH corner OFs who are all OK and 0 RH corner OFs who should be in the majors. Instead of moving one of the LH guys (or not trading for Sanchez) and just signing Lane Thomas or even Grichuk, they'll probably have to give up talent to get someone to try to balance an incredibly imbalanced roster. It's completely foreseeable and easily preventableissues like this that drive me crazy.

You have to wonder what the FO is thinking right now. 2 weeks ago it was easy to imagine their thought process went something like "we're 5 weeks into the season, we will get better and injured players are returning. We can stabilize in June then take off in July like last year since we're hovering around .500."

Now I wonder if they are thinking, "we're going to be out of this race before we get our reinforcements back (Kirk, Lukes, Barger, Bieber, Garcia). We've got 6-8 weeks to showcase Bieber, Garcia, Gausman and Springer as trade chips so we can make a quick turn around to contend in 2027.

Both Shapiro and Atkins were extended for five years, so it’s possible they think logically this summer rather than short term. Bo leaving effectively ended the 2021-25 window that they had with Vlad/Bo as the centerpieces. They did their best to extend that window, and on paper it looked really good, but a combination of injuries, regression, and bad managing has put them in this position. My guess is they will try for a WC spot given how bad the AL is this season, but it would feel very similar to 2023 where they get in but never feel like an actual threat. Maybe there’s a big move at the deadline to change that, but at this point you can certainly argue that if they still look this bad in a month that they need to pivot regardless of how close that last WC spot is. Right now it doesn’t seem like a mirage, they don’t look like a good team.

Agree SK. If they were serious about completing this year there would be more “pants-on-fire” moves. The first one would be to send Schneider to Buffalo and bring up Kasevich. I’m thinking a big sell off is coming to retool for next year.

If they still don't look good in a few weeks, then I hope you're right about the sell off. The Vlad/Bo years in hindsight did about as well as you could have reasonably hoped despite Covid impacting two of those seasons (2020 and not being able to play home games for most of 2021), and it should have ended with a championship (...won't open that wound up again). But realistically, there is going to be a lot of turnover with this core. They need to start building that next core, and it will be harder to do that if they are subtracting from the farm system in two months in order to get to 83 wins and WC3. If they looked like a legitimate contender in 2 months, then that changes the conversation, but treading water around .500 with a core that is slowly aging out is not the best way to go. In a lot of ways this is like the 2017 season. They didn't decide to sell that deadline, and held off until the following season when it was too late. If they sell this year, then it gives them a strong chance to build a contender again in 2027 with better health and hopefully a younger/more athletic team (+ money to play with for veteran improvements if/when the lockout ends for the 2027 season).

I wouldn't give up on 2026 yet, though. Once Kirk, Barger, and Bieber get back, plus Vlad's impending hot streak (it has to be coming soon right?), the team going on a run wouldn't be all that surprising. The issue is that they may/likely have put themselves out of the division conversation already, so it makes things a bit less exciting as a fan hoping for a 2nd or 3rd WC spot in a bad season for the AL.

The Jays are TWO games out of a playoff spot in May and already people are bringing the loser Leafs energy, yikes.

They are two games out of the weakest playoff position one game wild card to get into the playoffs, is what you mean.

SK I am with you, great posts. The team has collapsed but they can still contend, but they are hanging by a thread. It's baseball of course they are not out of it but it would be foolish to assume things will change in the likeliest scenario.

What really irks me is this: "but a combination of injuries, regression, and bad managing has put them in this position." I completely agree with this assessment but at the same time feel this team could be above .500 if managed better despite all the bad luck and injuries.

"The Jays are TWO games out of a playoff spot in May and already people are bringing the loser Leafs energy, yikes."

They are also tied for 9th/10th/11th place in a league of 15 teams.

They are also tied for last in their division.

They are also 11 games behind the division leader.

They also are 20th in MLB in run differential compared to 7th last year.

I don't think many would disagree they are not out of it, but they're certainly closer to being out of it than they are to being in it.

The wild card is a 3-game series but yes, it's unlikely they earn a bye this year.

The Jays are firmly in a playoff race, and are nowhere close to being out of it. To say that the Jays should pivot if they are, say, a game out of a playoff spot is just silly.

I think you're reading it wrong. Nobody is saying they should pivot right now and sell on May 21st. It is being said that IF they are still out of it...IF the current status quo and performance continues then they should pivot.

"If they still don't look good in a few weeks, then I hope you're right about the sell off."

"I’m thinking a big sell off is coming to retool for next year."

"Now I wonder if they are thinking, "we're going to be out of this race before we get our reinforcements back (Kirk, Lukes, Barger, Bieber, Garcia). We've got 6-8 weeks to showcase Bieber, Garcia, Gausman and Springer as trade chips so we can make a quick turn around to contend in 2027."

Emphasis is clearly on timing beyond today. That's three posts from three posters including myself, closest timeline referencing an exact date for a sell off is 6-8 weeks from now (mid to end of July).

If someone is posting "sell off this team is done," I don't see it anywhere...

"at this point you can certainly argue that if they still look this bad in a month that they need to pivot regardless of how close that last WC spot is."

This isn't the Rays or fantasy baseball, and the Jays will not be trading Gausman, Varsho, etc. if they are a game out of the playoffs in July.

For what it's worth, I wouldn't classify Clement's baserunning decision in the 9th as a mistake.  Guerrero's line-drive was slicing away from Grisham and there was 1 out at the time.  The extra 90 feet wasn't sufficiently valuable in that situation that you'd go back to tag right away and run the risk of not scoring if the ball fell in.  It's a judgment call all the way, from my perspective.  

"I was very surprised, I don't think Clement got a good read on it. He went halfway, he should have seen that um...Grisham made that look pretty easy. He should be at third base right now." - Paul O'Neill on the YES broadcast.

I watched it too.  With nobody out, I'd expect him to be tagging up on a ball like that, and he would have a good read on the ball and undoubtedly he would have made it to third.  With one out, I'd expect him to get quite a ways toward third.  From that vantage point, on a ball slicing away, it's a judgment call whether you race back to the bag to tag up.  I don't agree with O'Neill's certainty.  

The Jays will absolutely be buyers in July if they are six games under .500 and two games back of a playoff spot (as they are now). But just because that's what they will do doesn't mean it's the smart way to operate.

They need to look drastically better over the next few weeks/month and a half to be considered realistic contenders. That still might happen. The rotation once Bieber is healthy will look great on paper, and Kirk/Barger's returns + a Vlad hot streak could change the perception of the team drastically by this time two months from now. But if that doesn't happen, and it's more of the same as what we have seen so far, then it's not a "loser mentality" to call a spade a spade.

Mentioned on a Facebook thread, for all the injuries and stuff gone wrong, If I'd told you on March 1 that Vlad had misplaced all his slug and Spriunger had turned back into a pumpkin, then told you they were under .500, you would not have been at all surprised. All the injuries and stuff just layers on top of that.

There's no recovery from this unless Vlad finds himself and someone takes up Springer's slack

The Jays have pending free agents: Gausman, Springer, Varsho, Scherzer, Bieber, Corbin, and Garcia.

The front office has job security. This would be a fine year to retool if it goes any further off the rails. The expanded playoffs means hardly anyone is a seller.

The Jays are currently afloat because guys like Pinango and Macko have floated to the big league roster. The Twins sold everything but Ryan and Buxton last July and they didn’t look apoplectic when the Jays faced them this year.

Varsho has looked nothing like his usual self in centre this year. Skydome eats CF and 3B up and I’m not sure that contract would age well anyway.

Maybe they turn it on, but if they don’t it seems like the conditions are ripe for a retool.

Berrios TJ surgery

I'm not sure if you're suggesting that you watched the game or the YES broadcast, because SN didn't even show a replay of it. It looked clear to me, O'Neill, and Kay on the YES replay that Clement made a baserunning mistake. You say that you'd "expect Clement to get quite a ways toward third", and meanwhile he wasn't even halfway and just watched as Grisham made the obvious catch without tagging up. He paused in no-man's land. It was a poor read of the play, perhaps the strep slowed him down a bit.

There's a big gap between being sellers and real buyers. If they don't look that good but are in a playoff race they don't need to go out and get this year's Bieber and Varland, but they would be well served to add a Dominguez.

hi Davidi
@ShiDavidi
·
23m
Jose Berrios ended up needing full Tommy John surgery, which was performed today, said Blue Jays manager John Schneider.

The stress fracture in the elbow ended up damaging the ligament. He’s facing a 12-18 month recovery.

Shi Davidi
@ShiDavidi
·
15m
"We got an answer" on the issues in his elbow, said Schneider. "It sucks for him and it sucks for us. I know he'll attack the rehab. But the time part of it sucks."


Shi Davidi
@ShiDavidi
Shane Bieber could be pitching in rehab games by the end of next week “if all goes well,” said Schneider. Max Scherzer likely to throw a side tomorrow and “could be closer (to a return) than Biebs if he continues to feel good.”

Shi Davidi
@ShiDavidi
·
17m
Rafael Lantigua joined the team on taxi squad last night due to Ernie Clement’s strep throat. He’ll be heading out to triple-A Buffalo later tonight, said Schneider.

Shi Davidi
@ShiDavidi
·
17m
Nathan Lukes is playing in another rehab game with low-A Dunedin and will do so again tomorrow. He and the Blue Jays will decide then if he needs some at-bats at triple-A Buffalo.

Addison Barger is a couple of days away from baseball activity.

Too early to talk about selling and buying comes in different forms. Going out and getting someone under contract for three more years is very different than a rental. Nothing really matters though unless Vlad can get it together. Jays don't have the best middle of the order anyway, but having no middle of the order is devastating. It doesn't matter what tweaks you make if Vlad is like this.

I'm probably the low man here on Pinango. I see a guy who is likely a league average player or so. He's been way better than what the Jays have been generally running out there but think he's in the same boat as Lukes, Sanchez, and Barger as a decent player but not great and with less upside imo than Barger or likely Sanchez.

Agreed Glevin - he has been a lot of fun but realistically if Pinango is a league average player this year the Jays would be very happy with him. Sadly his ML time will probably end for a bit when Lukes comes back (I've given up on the Jays tossing Sosa anytime soon - at least Sosa isn't in the lineup today).

As to buying and selling - it is fun to speculate both ways. I'd rather they are buying, but if selling the assets are significant (FA to be in Gausman, Springer, Varsho, Bieber, Garcia, Scherzer, and even Corbin - all could be tempting to a strong contender under the right circumstances (health mostly). But adding in players could be hard (need a bat but where - 2B/SS LF/RF the most obvious choices, but a top notch CF could be good too, shifting Varsho to LF with his wow defense and meh arm). Jays always seem to have cash so if they want to they could eat a bad contract to get a deal's prospect price down too.

Heck, a mix and match could happen - trade some of the FA to be for prospects, and trade prospects for a hitter or two if come July we have a healthy staff.

Cease has looked good. Team is 6-4 when he starts.
Pounce has gone the way of Santander so far.
Rogers has been excellent. Somehow 1 win 2 losses but a 1.69 ERA.
Scherzer has been bad. 9.64 ERA. Team is 1-4 when he starts, but he's more like plan C than plan B.
Lauer has been bad. 6.69. 1-5 record. Team is 2-6 when he pitched.
Yeasavage has been good. 1.40 ERA, still Team is 2-2 when he starts, mostly because he's not fully stretched. 
Gausman has been solid. 3.45 ERA. Team is 5-5 when he starts.
Corbin has been decent. 4.23 ERA. Team is 4-4 when starts.

The pen is a bit of a mixed bag, but that's like that every year.
They just need to land on a 5th starter who can give them a change to win.
A AAA pitcher who can spot start would be nice but that's very hard to acquire.

Offensively, it looks like they need another bat.
Springer has a .596 OPS and that's a huge part of it.
Kirk has caught 5 games this year and that's another part of it.
Valenzuela is up to a .720 OPS and he was a very good acquisition.
That's still not Kirk.
Schneider has been very bad and is not showing any improvement.
However, he's just the right side of a platoon and Pinango has been very good.
Sosa, I will just ignore.

I like Vlad between 2 good left bats. I don't care where he hits.
In the playoffs, I think we had Lukes 3rd and Barger 4th.

anyone exuberant about Pinango should remember Schneider's debut. Would be a more interesting discussion if he was more than a fringe defender.

Glad for the injury updates - would be good if Scherzer doesn't need much ramp up - but why oh why will no one ever get answers about Tiedemann's progress?

Manoah got outrighted.
So Tiedemann, Barriera, Manoah, Maroudis, Dallas, Brock, Bloss…

At what point do we have to wonder if the Jays have a major issue in rehabbing elbows? Bieber was basically done his rehab before the trade and even he had a setback.

Yesavage >>> Schittler

Yeah, that was a very impressive pitching performance against a much more potent Yankees lineup making them less threatening than the weaker Jays lineup versus the still very good Schlittler.

Lots of people thought the Jays had too much starting pitching in the offseason, and we've seen how injuries mean you can never have enough starting pitching, but the good thing is that (for the most part) the Jays starting pitchers who have been uninjured have indeed been very, very good. The main thing keeping them in this.

For me, the collapse in the defense is the sadder/more surprising thing than the collapse in the offense. If anything the expectation would be with no more Bo we'd have *better* defense and worse offense not significantly worse team defense and worse offense. The ball dropping for the Yankees first "hit" when it should have been caught, the failure to catch at least one fly in RF on the play that maybe injured Sanchez, and Varland missing the grounder to first were all the sorts of plays that last years team seemed to near always get right. None of those are horrifically bad on their own, but they are sort of the pattern of a below average defensive team (which seems right to my eye test). Although looks like the various metrics are mixed on the team defense: Statcast FRV 4th; Fangraphs Advanced Def 6th; Statcast OAA 11th; Fielding Bible DRS T19th; Fielding Percentage 27th; and Errors 27th.

Pounce and Lauer were bullpen options which is unusual but they just don't have enough AAA depth.
Nobody expected Berrios to have a structural elbow issue.

Is the issue with rehabbing or with the procedure itself?

Manoah now features an 87 mph sinker and a 77 mph slider.

I didn't see the runs (went to bed) but did Valenzuela learn to bunt in the last 24/48 hours?

When the Baseball Americas guys were talking Pinango at the end of last season they praised the bat but said his defense was pretty bad. I have been watching and he has done Ok so far, until last night when he didn't have the confidence to make that play last night. Luckily Yesavage bailed him out.

Yes. Valenzuela set to bunt before the pitcher was even set and delivered a perfect bunt.
He must have spent a lot of time on it.

I believe it's Carlos Febles who is considered to be the "bunting coach" and has encouraged the "square early and bunt it towards 3rd" approach that the team frequently uses on sacrifice attempts. I used to hate this - it reminds me of how NL pitchers used to bunt in obvious situations. But Valenzuela did this last night, and it made a world of difference - he placed the ball with confidence, rather than flailing at it, despite two defenders charging directly at him. It's one of the more impressive coaching/teaching moments that I've seen in recent memory, and it was a big part of why we scored enough runs to win.

Does anyone know if the Jays can now option Rodriguez to the minors if they want? I remember initially his contract had a clause that the Jays could not option him to Buffalo. But I wonder if the Jays removing him from the roster in the offseason changed that? AI says yes, but I don't know if that is confirmed true.

I mean hard to rule out either (or idiosyncratic traits of the individual), but it’s happening a lot so I’d want to review all parts if I was the club. Could simply be “(bad) luck”, but there’s enough money on the line that seems worth a deep dive in case there’s something else there.

Can we trade our remaining games with the Rays to, say the Orioles or the Red Sox in exchange for their games against the Yankees? All 3 games in this series felt like we had a chance to win, etc..

Nothing has changed for Rodriguez. He's not on an MLB-standard rookie contract, and the terms of his free-agent deal only permitted him to be optioned in his first year. However, he can be waived and outrighted to Buffalo again; he makes too much to be claimed and doesn't have the service time to reject the assignment and keep his money. I think they'll give him a few more shots, though - there aren't a lot of better options, though Yimi Garcia could be returning in the next few weeks...

Yesavage Career (Season + Playoffs)

​
14gms, 4.8ip/gm, 30.9k%, 9.6bb%, .294babip, .199avg, 13.6ld%, 66era-, 63fip-, 79xfip-

George Springer's platoon splits so far are out of context for his career.  He has hit left-handers at about the same rate as before (actually a little better) and has killed their fastballs.  He hasn't hit right-handers a lick, even their fastballs, which he has done every year of his career to date.  It might be the aftereffects of the foot injury, but there might also be a component of subtle vision loss.  I also wonder how much of the typical aging curve for hitters has to do with vision loss rather than loss of twitch reflex or accumulated musculo-skeletal maladies.   

Even with only 5 starts this year, Yesavage ranks #32 MLB in fWAR, and #31 MLB in ra9WAR.

Yeah, I think they should be testing the vision of all their players a few times a year. I wonder about vision loss for Varsho too as one of the things that used to be peak elite for him was his initial jump on defense and route and my eye test suggests that he's had bad jumps and bad routes more than a few times and I wonder if that is vision related.

Yeah, YRod would go through the same process as last year but that's fine.

As of now they have five guys who would potentially return from the IL and need a spot:

And three obviously on the bubble to lose out

Scherzer may have a short path to returning (I speculate maybe even only one rehab outing but if the Miles project continues apace, maybe 2?) so maybe 5/31 and that would bump likely Lee (last up first out unless performance demands otherwise.

Nance is eligible to be activated June 1 and Mantiply a couple of days after but we don't know yet if they'd be ready. Those would naturally translate to YRod and Macko

Garcia? Eligible next week but it sure doesn't sound likely (I'm beginning to wonder if he ever makes it back) and barring another injury (or one of Nance/Mantiply needing extended time) there's no easy way to fit him in.

Then there's Beiber likely in the second half of June. What then?

That's a lot of left bats for Miles.

I'm so old school that I read that Yesavage line and have no idea if it's good or bad besides the ip/gm being low. I guess the K% sounds pretty good. Kids these days.

Speaking of innings per game, I would have put Schneider in the leadoff spot tonight. He sees the most pitches on the team and Rodon has never been one to get too deep (for a pitcher of his calibre), so having Davis up there gives them the best chance at getting to the Yankees bullpen early. If Rodon got pulled before the 3rd time through, there's 3 lefties waiting on the bench. It might be time to back off Springer from the leadoff spot for a bit anyway. He spent most of last season lower down.

All I'm saying is... I wanted to keep Leo Jimenez.

good stuff, Miles!

I'm trying to remember the last Rule 5 player that sounded this ready to play. Joe Biagini, maybe?

ia varland available tonight? or is he burnt cuz we decided to use him when down in game 2 after not using him in game 1 with the late lead?

that's a nice DP.

feels like the defense has been picking up lately.

varland burnt confirmed.

here comes the Hoff to close out a pretty big game to get the split.

I’ll take a 4-3 road trip through New York and Detroit. Should’ve swept the Yankees though tbh.

Hoffman looked like he didn’t have much pitching for the 3rd time in 4 days. Did he even throw a fastball? Very curious bullpen management from Schneider all series.

the hoff comes through!

i'll take the split but really think we shoulda won this series.

in the end it's four very close games - this 2-0 win is the widest margin of victory of the series. Jays outscore the Yanks 14-13 overall.

Threw 12 pitches. ... 10 sliders, 2 splitters and 0 fastballs.

Yeah, that was nice.
Still many hitters who haven't found their timing on both side.
Pitchers focusing on hitters weak zones all night.

I think it has more to do with Varland throwing 24 pitches yesterday than the 6 pitches he threw on Tuesday.

If a reliever throws 10 pitches or less, he's available the next day. If he throws 20+, he's not.
Yariel threw 14 pitches on Sunday and 20 on Monday, but it was a disaster.
Macko threw 14 on Monday and 15 on Tuesday.
There's a ton of arms on the shelf.

Team (Recent) Ex-Jays

SS O.Lopez 212pa, .395babip, 140wrc+, 6.8war650
1B S.Horwitz 164pa, .304babip, 131wrc+, 4.0war650
DH T.France 82pa, .300babip, 131wrc+, 4.0war650
CF J.Loperfido 66pa, .400babip, 104wrc+, 2.0war650
C D.Jansen 114pa, .242babip, 78wrc+, 0.0war650
3B M.Chapman 206pa, .306babip, 77wrc+, 1.0war650
2B B.Bichette 221pa, .250babip, 73wrc+, 0.6war650
LF L.Jimenez 52pa, .278babip, 71wrc+, -1.3war650
RF I.Kiner-Falefa 52pa, .316babip, 67wrc+, 2.5war650

UT S.Espinal 39pa, .226babip, 54wrc+, -1.7war650
OF
IF M.Stefanic 5pa, .500babip, 125wrc+, 0.0war650 --- (AAA: 153pa, .274babip, 76wrc+)
C



SP LH K.Rojas 4gms, 2.8ip/gm, 38era-, 92fip-, 122xfip-, 2.0awar32
SP LH Y.Kikuchi 7gms, 4.4ip/gm, 139era-, 88fip-, 100xfip-, 1.4awar32
SP RH C.Bassitt 9gms, 4.8ip/gm, 133era-, 115fip-, 123xfip-, 0.4awar32

RP RH J.Kuhnel 17.7ip, 60era-, 89fip-, 95xfip-, 1.3awar65
RP RH T.Thornton 7.7ip, 59era-, 107fip-, 86xfip-, 0.9awar65
RP RH Z.Pop 7.3ip, 89era-, 75fip-, 114xfip-, 0.9awar65
RP LH R.Lovelady 20.7ip, 65era-, 113fip-, 107xfip-, 0.5awar65
RP LH R.Borucki 18.3ip, 99era-, 111fip-, 106xfip-, 0.2awar65
RP LH R.Yarbrough 16.7ip, 106era-, 86fip-, 112xfip-, 0.2awar65
RP LH T.Mayza 24.7ip, 97era-, 100fip-, 78xfip-, 0.1awar65
RP RH P.Schultz 18.0ip, 135era-, 81fip-, 96xfip-, -0.2awar65
RP LH J.Bruihl 21.7ip, 115era-, 119fip-, 134xfip-, -0.6awar65
RP RH J.Hicks 17.7ip, 135era-, 122fip-, 140xfip-, -0.6awar65

RP RH N.Pearson 1.0ip, 0era-, 75fip-, 109xfip-, 0.0awar65
RP LH J.Walker 4.0ip, 110era-, 130fip-, 102xfip-, 0.0awar65
RP RH T.Richards 9.0ip, 217era-, 155fip-, 111xfip-, -0.7awar65
RP LH B.Eisert 5.0ip, 173era-, 101fip-, 124xfip-, -0.7awar65
RP RH J.Fernandez 4.0ip, 55era-, 155fip-, 154xfip-, -0.8awar65
RP RH S.Dominguez 18.7ip, 116era-, 148fip-, 103xfip-, -1.7awar65
RP RH A.Manoah 7.3ip, 234era-, 162fip-, 181xfip-, -1.8awar65
RP RH J.Romano 8.0ip, 242era-, 104fip-, 108xfip-, -2.0awar65
RP RH N.Sandlin 8.7ip, 273era-, 179fip-, 151xfip-, -3.4awar65







AAA

CF S.Berroa --- (AAA: 149pa, .346babip, 115wrc+)
RF A.Roden --- (AAA: 87pa, .308babip, 135wrc+)
LF C.Biggio --- (AAA: 143pa, .238babip, 98wrc+)
3B B.Kennedy --- (AAA: 175pa, .364babip, 152wrc+)
SS P.DeJong --- (AAA: 110pa, .189babip, 111wrc+)
2B M.McCoy --- (AAA: 171pa ,.345babip, 102wrc+)
1B A.Sanchez --- (AAA: 105pa, .284babip, 114wrc+)
C B.Severn --- (AAA: 121pa, .383babip, 124wrc+)
DH P.Henry --- (AAA: 100pa, .333babip, 116wrc+)

UT W.Wagner --- (AAA: 64pa, .389babip, 85wrc+)
OF W.Robertson --- (AAA: 37pa, .182babip, -3wrc+)
IF T.Fitzgerald --- (AAA: 94pa, .318babip, 78wrc+)
C C.Bethancourt --- (AAA: 106pa, .260babip, 69wrc+)



SP RH C.Lawrence --- (AAA: 5.6ip/gm, 76era-, 95fip-, 94xfip-)
SP RH T.Hatch --- (AAA: 4.6ip/gm, 67era-, 99fip-, 96xfip-)
SP RH T.Watson --- (AAA: 3.3ip/gm, 41era-, 78fip-, 113xfip-)
SP RH A.Bash --- (AAA: 2.9ip/gm, 117era-, 104fip-, 104xfip-)
SP RH A.Kloffenstein --- (AAA: 4.0ip/gm, 123era-, 138fip-, 114xfip-)
SP RH A.Sanchez --- (AAA: 3.9ip/gm, 142era-, 135fip-, 121xfip-)

RP RH J.Cuas --- (AAA: 19.3ip, 56era-, 75fip- 100xfip-)
RP RH L.Quinones --- (AAA: 15.0ip, 70era-, 69fip-, 72xfip-)
RP RH G.Klobosits --- (AAA: 13.7ip, 102era-, 73fip-, 87xfip-)
RP RH Y.Zulueta --- (AAA: 14.7ip, 105era-, 80fip-, 91xfip-)
RP LH G.Cabrera --- (AAA: 17.3ip, 215era-, 102fip-, 93xfip-)
RP RH H.Danner --- (AAA: 13.3ip, 168era-, 150fip-, 141xfip-)



AA

SP RH K.Stephen --- (AA: 4.8ip/gm, 75era-, 95fip-, 96xfip-)
SP RH J.Watts-Brown --- (AA: 3.8ip/gm, 71era-, 81fip-, 86xfip-)

Yankees Stats
@ChrisCoop_

Annoying hit that causes the infield to lose braincells? Ernie clement is there

Go ahead ridiculous HR off a nearly unhittable pitch location? Ernie clement is there

Platinum glove, cooperstown plays in the infield? Ernie clement is there

Monster playoff performance off every Yankee pitcher? Ernie clement is there

Sleep paralysis demons hovering over my chest? It’s Ernie clement

Dying in a hospital bed when I’m old and sick? Ernie clement is the nurse

Ernie clement today
Ernie clement tomorrow
Ernie clement forever
8:13 PM · May 21, 2026
·

So, 50 games.

'25: 25-25
'26: 23-27

(I only know how to get stats from the 50th game Box score so that's what I'm using---
Vlad: .274/.380/.414/.794 - a little better but not Vlad-better
Varsho - .203/.227/.580/.806 same general neighborhood
Springer - .259/.375/.449/.824 no comment necessary
Clement - .254/.295/.326/.621 better
Kirk - .283/.323/.372/.695 compare to Valenzuela
Bo - .284/.329/.409/.738 compares to Kaz

I'm sure someone knows how to find the whole team's data through 50 games but anyway, seems like a lot of similarity at a cursory glance.

278 players have had at least 100 PAs this year. Lenyn Sosa is the 274th best offensive player. He also can't play defense and isn't fast.

Tamra - fangraphs let's you very easily sort stats by whatever date range you can think of.

Plausible best lineups using...


Past 1 Calendar Year

1. DH Springer 552pa, .379obp, 156wrc+, 4.9war650
2. 1B Guerrero 685pa, .375obp, 131wrc+, 3.3war650
3. CF Varsho 398pa, .317obp, 122wrc+, 4.7war650
4. C Alejandro 383pa, .355obp, 122wrc+, 6.6war650
5. 2B Schneider 293pa, .346obp, 113wrc+, 2.4war650
6. SS Clement 648pa, .320obp, 106wrc+, 3.3war650
7. RF Barger 447pa, .298obp, 103wrc+, 2.9war650
8. 3B Okamoto 202pa, .302obp, 102wrc+, 2.6war650
9. LF Lukes 403pa, .312obp, 98wrc+, 2.4war650

B. UT Sanchez 533pa, .302obp, 98wrc+, 1.3war650
B. OF Straw 309pa, .310obp, 89wrc+, 2.9war650
B. IF Gimenez 397pa, .286obp, 79wrc+, 2.6war650
B. C Valenzuela 89pa, .307obp, 101wrc+, 6.6war650

X. UT Pinango 61pa, .344obp, 109wrc+, 3.2war650
X. OF Clase 87pa, .333obp, 96wrc+, 0.7war650
X. IF Sosa 486pa, .274obp, 90wrc+, 0.8war650
X. C Heineman 197pa, .287obp, 64wrc+, 3.0war650



Fangraphs Depth Chart Projections

1. DH Springer 426pa, .333obp, 113wrc+, 1.8war650
2. 1B Guerrero 469pa, .380obp, 141wrc+, 4.2war650
3. C Alejandro 258pa, .348obp, 115wrc+, 6.3war650
4. LF Sanchez 290pa, .315obp, 105wrc+, 2.0war650
5. 3B Okamoto 416pa, .324obp, 113wrc+, 3.3war650
6. RF Lukes 165pa, .334obp, 105wrc+, 2.4war650
7. 2B Schneider 218pa, .327obp, 101wrc+, 2.1war650
8. CF Varsho 416pa, .301obp, 103wrc+, 3.0war650
9. SS Clement 431pa, .311obp, 98wrc+, 2.6war650

B. UT Barger 223pa, .313obp, 104wrc+, 1.7war650
B. OF Straw 106pa, .300obp, 76wrc+, 0.6war650
B. IF Gimenez 421pa, .309obp, 93wrc+, 2.9war650
B. C Valenzuela 93pa, .280obp, 75wrc+, 2.1war650

X. UT Santander 15pa, .308obp, 102wrc+, 0.0war650
X. OF Pinango 92pa, .300obp, 85wrc+, 0.0war650
X. IF Sosa 140pa, .276obp, 84wrc+, 0.0war650
X. C Heineman 102pa, .289obp, 68wr, 1.9war650

Lenyn Sosa is so bad his BBref page crashed my browser. Luckily it’s a nice day so I while my computer rebooted I managed to take a walk, UNLIKE Sosa….

Is Ernie Clement related to Roy Kent?

He's here, he's there....

George seems to be slowly coming back, although I'm not sure if we try to bring him back after this year - maybe on a very discounted Taveras-like deal - although I doubt George would go for something like that. I think our biggest offensive problem right now is lack of a RHB dependable hitter outside of Ernie/Vlad/George(maybe) vs LHP (as others have mentioned). Yes, Kirk will help, whenever he's ready.

Kaz seems to be back to cold - it seems like EVERYONE and their AAA bullpen heard about the "moved back 6 inches in the box" so they're just throwing short sliders and he's way out in front / pulling everything to 3B on the ground. I haven't checked into it, it just feels like it. Maybe he needs to randomly move back up 6 inches again?

Straw's early season hot streak is long gone.

Schneider and Sosa are both unplayable right now, IMHO. If even ONE of them could get hot, or swapped with a more dependable, >700 OPS RHB, it would be really, really helpful. Right now they're just killing rally after rally, the odd sac fly / sac bunt notwithstanding. Any chance we could get something reasonable like that for Pinango+? Maybe Bo at half price after the Mets give up? :-)

I've long thought the team and media have concentrated far too much on the supposed need to add lefty bats to the team, when our performance vRHP had always been good anyways.

The jays have just signed a new RH bat.


welcome back, Eloy Jimenez!

Can't be worse than Sosa, can he?

No idea why the signed Jimenez. He isn't any good and he can only DH. Would rather AAA abs go to someone who might be something. I assume Lukes will be back soon and hopefully Barger soon after but the guys most need replacing are Sosa and Schenider and they are a different fit. Just so many of the same sort of value in corner Of. Lukes, Sanchez, and Barger all projected by ZIPS to have between 0.9-1.2 WAR ROS which is cannobilizing your own abs for no reason. Of course, I'd rather those guys face lefties than have Schenider and Sosa continue to struggle but it's a pointlessly imbalanced team. Yes, Jays best hitters are right handed but getting a bunch of OK LH hitters doesn't even that out.

It's like that everywhere. Most teams have figured out that an average left bat is better than an average right bat and load their bench accordingly. 
Pinango is a decent replacement for Lukes/Barger and doesn't cost anything. Good AAA depth.
Schneider and Sosa aren't regulars.
Right now, only Clase and MacIver are on the 40 roster. They're just extra depth.
Lantigua spent some time on the taxi squad, but they don't seem to want to call Kasevich or McAdoo who would be better than Sosa.

Jays are 13th in batting average, 26th in OBP and 27th in HR.
It seems they rolled the dice with Sosa to increase the HR but they only managed to drag the OBP down.
Sosa's OBP is lower than his batting average. That's really hard to do.