Davis Schneider is in Toronto.

Rudy Martin is headed to the IL with a hamstring strain.

Tiedemann sent down.

Schneider and Brendan Celucci up.

Big chance for Davis. Maybe last chance. But he earned it this time at least.

Jesus Sanchez has been claimed by Arizona.

In the other series, the pitching match ups seem to favor Cleaveland in the last 2 games.
Chicago has won 6 of the 10 previous games, so they just need to win 1 to get the tie-breaker.

Arizona has a series against the Yankees, other than that, they don't matter.

Plausible Best Lineups using slightly different splits this time....



Since Trade Deadline Stats:

1. CF Bateman 144pa, .401obp, 140wrc+, 7.2war650
2. C Alejandro 134pa, .381obpp, 148wrc+, 8.3war650
3. 3B Okamoto 144pa, .333obp, 135wrc+, 5.0war650
4. 2B Smith 56pa, .370obp, 167wrc+, 8.1war650
5. LF Straw 104pa, .353obp, 115wrc+, 4.4war650
6. DH Springer 124pa, .331obp, 114wrc+, 2.1war650
7. SS Gimenez 124pa, .331obp, 101wrc+, 5.2war650
8. 1B Guerrero 125pa, .312obp, 99wrc+, 1.6war650
9. RF Lukes 140pa, .299obp, 95wrc+, 2.8war650

B. UT McAdoo 66pa, .348obp, 106wrc+, 3.0war650
B. OF Schneider 8pa, .500obp, 125wrc+, 0.0war650
B. IF Clement 137pa, .241obp, 39wrc+, -2.4war650
B. C Valenzuela 49pa, .224obp, 21wrc+, 0.0war650
B. UT Keys 10pa, .400obp, 197wrc+, 6.5war650

X. IF Urias 4pa, .250obp, 101wrc+, 0.0war650
X. UT Sanchez 63pa, .333obpp, 98wrc+, -1.1war650
X. OF Cameron 25pa, .200obp, 49wrc+, -5.2war650
X. OF Martin 3pa, .333obp, 44wrc+, 0.0war650




This Season Stats:

1. CF Bateman 144pa, .401obp, 140wrc+, 7.2war650
2. C Alejandro 278pa, .349obp, 115wrc+, 5.9war650
3. 3B Okamoto 588pa, .311obp, 116wrc+, 3.3war650
4. DH Springer 480pa, .323obp, 109wrc+, 1.5war650
5. RF Lukes 409pa, .323obp, 101wrc+, 2.9war650
6. 1B Guerrero 573pa, .335obp, 98wrc+, 1.5war650
7. LF Smith 210pa, .317obp, 92wrc+, 1.2war650
8. 2B Clement 579pa, .297obp, 88wrc+, 1.2war650
9. SS Gimenez 478pa, .290obp, 81wrc+, 3.7war650

B. UT Sanchez 299pa, .318obp, 105wrc+, -0.4war650
B. OF Straw 300pa, .301obp, 82wrc+, 1.7war650
B. IF Urias 59pa, .322obp, 122wrc+, 3.3war650
B. C Valenzuela 256pa, .298obp, 87wrc+, 4.6war650
B. UT McAdoo 91pa, .297obp, 80wrc+, 0.7war650

X. UT Pinango 180pa, .306obp, 97wrc+, -0.4war650
X. OF Clase 25pa, .360obp, 153wrc+, 7.8war650
X. IF Schneider 140pa, .295obp, 69wrc+, -1.4war650
X. C Ross
X. UT Keys 47pa, .234obp, 61wrc+, -2.8war650

X. UT Cameron 25pa, .200obp, 49wrc+, -5.2war650
X. OF Martin 3pa, .333obp, 44wrc+, 0.0war650
X. IF Sosa 117pa, .207obp, 31wrc+, -3.9war650
X. C Stubbs
X. UT Santander




Fangraphs Depth Charts Combined Projections

1. CF Bateman 45pa, .336obp, 93wrc+, 2.9war650
2. 1B Guerrero 49pa, .367obp, 133wrc+, 4.0war650
3. C Alejandro 29pa, .351obp, 117wrc+, 6.7war650
4. DH Springer 44pa, .334obp, 116wrc+, 1.5war650
5. 3B Okamoto 47pa, .318obp, 113wrc+, 2.8war650
6. LF Santander 15pa, .310obp, 106wrc+, 0.0war650
7. RF Lukes 41pa, .329obp, 105wrc+, 3.2war650
8. 2B Clement 45pa, .305obp, 94wrc+, 2.9war650
9. SS Gimenez 44pa, .306obp, 91wrc+, 3.0war650

B. UT Smith 26pa, .332obp, 103wrc+, 2.5war650
B. OF Straw 27pa, .301obp, 78wrc+, 0.0war650
B. IF McAdoo 12pa, .293obp, 89wrc+, 0.0war650
B. C Valenzuela 21pa, .284obp, 80wrc+, 3.1war650
B. UT Schneider 2pa, .326obp, 102wrc+, 0.0war650

X. UT Pinango 6pa, .296obp, 87wrc+, 0.0war650
X. OF Clase 2pa, .294obp, 87wrc+, 0.0war650
X. IF Keys 3pa, .294obp, 87wrc+, 0.0war650
X. C Ross 0pa, .252obp, 59wrc+, 0.0war650
X. UT Martin 4pa, .298obp, 81wrc+, 0.0war650

Keider Montero is on the paternity list and might be starting Wednesday's game.

Mitch Bannon
@MitchBannon
·
42m
#BlueJays injury updates:

- The target for Trey Yesavage in AAA tomorrow is 3IP 40-45 pitches

- Anthony Santander will play the week with Buffalo

- Shane Bieber will throw a side session tomorrow

It's about to get real...

That Bateman projection goes to hypobole's point - Bateman doesn't need to hit anything like he has been to date in order to be a good MLB player.

MLBTR suggests Jesus Sanchez is essentially replacing Lourdes Gurriel Jr on the Diamondbacks' roster after he recently was DFA'd during a terrible final contract year after his return from an ACL tear. Arizona owes Gurriel Jr another 5 million to buyout his 14 mil team option for 2027.

Arizona presumably picked up Sanchez as a warm body for their own Wild Card pursuit at 79-71, 2.5 games back of the Padres. Their outfield is pretty thin after recently cutting both Lourdes & Max Kepler.

Apparently there was more interest than expected in Sanchez. MLBTR claims there was a second mystery team that put in a claim, presumably a playoff-bound one given the D-Backs won the claim order (Sanchez wouldn't be playoff eligible).

Arizona claiming Sanchez also gives Rogers about 900k+ in salary relief due to the Jays luxury tax 90% overage penalty.

By my count the jays have swung at two pitches so far.

4th batter just three swings/

Great start to the game for the Blue Jays.

Close to a perfect first inning. Soriano got three outs on 11 pitches and the Jays' hitters were grinding out solid ABs and running up Melton's pitch count.

50 pitches thru 2 is very nice.

but would be nicer if vladdy cashes some of these guys in right now.

Big moment for Vladdy here.

Groundball to SS. Sigh.

Still an excellent start to the game through 2 IP.

High pitch count for Melton is a great outcome, scoring some more runs would be even better.

RISP issues still a problem for Toronto.

Glove save and a beauty

Jose's pitch count looking decent.

Still four innings to go, let’s get another couple of runs

Kirky how do you not challenge that.

Hazel Mae
@thehazelmae
·
17m
Shane Bieber had another MRI taken in that posterior shoulder region (teres major) yesterday just to confirm he was healing properly
Results looked much better than the initial one.
Once Bieber received the news, was given the thumbs up to throw a side tomorrow, per Schneider.

The lack of additional runs and tsking advantage of baserunners could be the story of thr game

That is a big out. Now get two more.

Not much urgency from the manager this inning.

Well that was disappointing.

Nope.
Offense disappeared and no margin for error

Needed Vladdy or Clement to come through with runners on tonight, but instead it was same old, same old

Okamoto finding his stroke right on time. What a huge blast!

I think Straw is a a useful player but I need him off the team next year because of how horribly Schneider uses him. He is a great fielder and has speed but he can't hit! He has pinch hit 38 times this season! Next highest on Jays is Sanchez with 18.
A guy with an 82 WRC+! Last year, he also had 25 PH ABs. In the 7 previous seasons with Houston and Cleveland, he had 14 total.

Kaz

One of the biggest swings of the season. Wow!

Glevin… I agree with you almost always but who else would you suggest pinch hit against a LHP? Straw also made a huge run saving catch…

Smith has HORRIBLE numbers vs. LHP as well.

Gah I hate terrible umpiring
Ball 1 from Mantiply was close.

Just use Varland for two innings

Why is Mantiply in this game?

Louie'll have to earn this one.

This was the leverage inning with the best Tigers hitters coming up. Should have been a top leverage arm facing them.

Dingler can't hit high fastballs but Jays don't like following scouting reports.

I don’t understand this managerial decision-making.

If you’re willing to use Varland for 1.2 innings if your lesser reliever gives up baserunners to start the inning, then why not just use Varland for two innings to secure the win?

Yeah not a banner night for the skipper.

You’ve got Fisher down there with a lot of big outs for this team under his belt, and you trust a one run lead late to Joe Mantiply. This one’s on the manager in my view.

Lame. And Vladdy still isn’t good (sorry).

Bad, bad loss.

Flashback to last years WS when Kirk ended it with a double play.

Tough loss. Missed scoring chances and bad defense are hallmarks of the 2026 season. Tomorrow is another day.

That is an absolutely terrible loss with a bullpen game coming tomorrow. You absolutely cannot be throwing Joe Mantiply in a one run setup role with this much on the line.

Horrible loss. I've defended Schneider a lot but a lot of this is on him...and of course, the one good game for Vladdy disappeared with a horrendous one. Thank goodness, we have Okamoto hitting 6th so he doesn't get too many plate appearances. And yes, I love pinch hitting Straw in the 6th inning. Just fantastic to have one of the worst bats in baseball in the game when you are down or tied. Also great that we never play Keys and that Clement plays almost every single game. Just great choices over and over again that keep paying dividends.

If Kirk and Okamoto were batting 3rd and 4th tonight, then that would have made a significant difference and possibly changed the outcome of the game. Schneider willing to miss the playoffs due to personal bias rather than put his best lineup on the field is something I can't wrap my head around. Vlad's contract runs until 2056. They don't need to cater to his ego. They aren't taking money out of his pocket by batting him lower. This is just an arrogant level of ignorance.

This team just doesn't have it, will be an easy out in the playoffs if we somehow make it. Doesn't help that we have the worst manager in the league who can't manage to save his life. Horrendous hitting with pressure on, Mantiply being in the game, Keys being stuck in the bench, Vladdy being one of the worst players in the league and mcAdoo not attempting to steal in the most obvious time. Just stupid.

Guess we’re chasing Cleveland now. White Sox pulling out of reach. Rangers playing later tonight.

What annoys me is the lack of urgency by the manager. He should be pulling out all the stops to win a game like this. There are very few games left in the season and the postseason race is very close among several teams. Schneider was way too passive tonight, in my view.

Yes even with Miles and Fluharty unavailable you cannot manage for tomorrow with the playoffs on the line.
Magpie you know as well as I do that Fisher was available and how many big outs he’s for the Jays the last two seasons. How you use Mantiply in that situation, given how little he’s pitched in leverage instead of Fisher is befuddling to say the least.

Or use Varland to pitch the eighth against the Tigers big bats, and then (if need be) use a lower-leverage arm to close out the game. You have to manage like it’s the postseason already — or else there will be no postseason for your team.

Given the unbelievable load the pen has had to carry this year and how successfully they have done it, I can’t really see that the team’s problems can be laid at the feet of Schneider’s handling of the pen. The data suggests he should get flowers for what he’s done in that regard. Far bigger reasons that the team lost are because of failing to capitalize in the early innings on their scoring chances, Soriano’s quick collapse and poor defense.

This manager is managing exactly like he always has every game this season. How many losses could have been avoided so far this season due to his bullpen usage? 5? 10? Nobody's perfect but far too often he has these "I know you haven't earned it but I'm gonna put you in a high leverage spot to show I have faith in you, do me proud son!" moments with his pitchers. Most obvious examples:

> Hoffman being overused and wrongfully used over and over and over
> CJ Van Eyk being brought into a high leverage spot for his 2nd appearance
> Joe Mantiply brought in during a near do or die match

Just doesn't make sense because it's 1) a horrible strategy and 2) he only really does it with his pitchers. If he gives a hitter the same opportunity its because he has nobody else (i.e. McAdoo and Bateman getting leadoff chances).

I think he suffers from managing tomorrow's game too often.

this team doesn't use pitchers three straight days., They just don't.

You'd think a submariner like Tyler Rogers would be someone they could do that with, if anyone. 

Nigel, it seems the pen has been taxed and used a lot but remember its 2026 and virtually all teams are running their bullpens from the 6th inning on most nights. While Toronto's bullpen has suffered from a shortened rotation the job of the manager remains the same. Every manager has to shuffle his bullpen to try to put the best pitcher in the best spot.

It's kind of like Euchre...you're right you can't fault the player with the bad hand they've been dealt but you sure as hell can count the cards and call them out when they play a weaker card than they could have to win a round!

Im pretty sure Fisher was warming up with Little in the 9th so he was available.

The manager brought in Mantiply to face the #1-3 hitters with respective wRC+ stats of 127, 115, 138. I can kind of see why he did it — McGonigle hits RHP much better than he does against LHP. And Mantiply has pitched pretty well this year.

But Torres and Greene (the 2 and 3 hitters) hit well against LHP. And this was a huge situation. In my view, you have to manage it like a postseason game that you have to win. Instead the manager got cute and lost the game.

I agree with Nigel, though, that the more proximate cause of the loss was the team’s continued struggles hitting with RISP. They had multiple chances to add on early with runners on (including the bases loaded a couple of times) and just could not get that big hit.

Okamoto 2026: 145 G, 592 PA, .236/.311/.468, 33 HR, 78 R, 88 RBI, 117 wRC+, 9%BB, 29.2%K, 3.0 fWAR, 2.4 bWAR
His 1st half K% was 30.9%. In the 2nd half it is 26.2%.
His season has been better than probably most people expected, and he's controllable for a few more seasons at a reasonable salary. Really an excellent signing by the front office and a very capable replacement for Bichette's bat (even if the team arguably needed another middle infielder to spell Gimenez and Clement). 

Yeah, in general the front office has continued to be strong in their moves, especially of major league and near major league talent. Even the trade deadline deals show that, as well as the offseason moves. The biggest flaws tend to be sometimes not filling a needed gap, but the moves they make tend to work out most of the time (better than the average team's moves).

I Varland doesn't drop that ball the jays probly win that game. It happens.

"Given the unbelievable load the pen has had to carry this year and how successfully they have done it, I can’t really see that the team’s problems can be laid at the feet of Schneider’s handling of the pen. The data suggests he should get flowers for what he’s done in that regard. Far bigger reasons that the team lost are because of failing to capitalize in the early innings on their scoring chances, Soriano’s quick collapse and poor defense."

I generally agree with you and the lack of offense with guys on base was terrible, but Schneider had a bad game here. As someone pointed out above, if you're willing to go with Varland for 1.2 innings, why not just pitch him for 2? As big an issue for me though is his handling of the offense. I know he loves his guys but when things don't work, you need to change them up. Davis Schneider had a 1.028 OPS in Buffalo in September. Keys had a 1.154 OPS in August. Since August 1st, Vlad has a WRC+ of 89. He hits 3rd everyday. Lukes has a WRC+ of 91. He hits 5th against all righties. Clement has a WRC+ of 35. He plays everyday. Not saying all those guys should sit all the time (especially Lukes because there isn't a great replacement option and his overall value is best) but try some other things sometimes!

Vlad's base-out runs added yesterday was -1.5. 0-4 7 LOB is insane.

It was probably the last bad move of a bad game, but I don't know why you'd pinch-run with McAdoo and then leave him glued to 1B. Yes, getting thrown out would be bad, but Vlad is tied for 4th in baseball in GIDPs, and Kirk would be up there too if he played enough.

It seems no team wants the WC3.

Garland had his second blown save yesterday but I was surprised to see he has six losses. Two of those losses are in September.

If Kirk and Okamoto were batting 3rd and 4th like they should have been for the last few weeks (at a minimum), then do the Jays win last night's game? Impossible to know for sure, but it's amazing what happens when you give your best hitters more plate appearances while giving one of your worst ones (unfortunately 2026 Vlad) fewer. If Okamoto is up instead of Vlad with all those base runners earlier in the game then it could have been a different outcome. He's on a legit heater and is not only the only power threat in the lineup but has the 10th most HR's in the league right now.

This is a moot point as Schneider is not moving Vlad off the 3rd spot, he'll gladly sit at home in October doing this than potentially do something different, but Schneider's bullpen decisions don't compare to his lineup ones. Imagine the 2022 team batting Raimel Tapia 3rd all season. That's basically what this is.

I personally am tired of reading about how hard Vlad is hitting the ball or his great launch angles- at this time in the season all I care about is production and Vlad has been an unmitigated disaster in that department. I'd rather Vlad was hitting the ball softly and with poor launch angles if it resulted in more production and wins. Many are saying that Bateman's Babip is unsustainable - I don't care, he's producing and helping the team win and that's all that matters with so few games left.

As bad as the bullpen management was yesterday, the failure to run McAdoo was absolutely egregious. He had 34 steals in the minors last year with 2 brutal GIDP hitters behind him and a pitcher who categorically cannot hold runners. Dingler is good but in the past 4 years runners against Jansen are 48/48 on steal attempts. That is not a misprint.

In general McAdoo seems reluctant to run though probably has a green light but in this specific situation they absolutely should have called for a steal to avoid a DP and give him a chance to score on a single. Even worse, Jansen disengaged twice during Vlad's AB so he had zero fear of getting picked off.

As much as people are blaming Schneider for McAdoo not running, my understanding is he had the green light to run yesterday and chose not to.

While I don't love several of Schneider's management choices yesterday, I don't blame him for giving a green light to McAdoo and letting the player pick his spot. I'm generally less of a fan of saying steal on a pitch than saying you are free to steal if comfortable. (Hit and run is obviously different.) My blame in that situation is more with McAdoo not taking his opportunity, especially after Jansen threw over twice.

When Martin Jr. went on the IL, I never thought it would immediately impact a game so directly, but I have no doubt he would have run on that spot and, hopefully/likely, been successful.

Given how frequently Vladdy and Kirk hit groundballs to the right side I wasn't actually crazy about the idea of McAdoo running. The hole created by the 1B holding him on had some value (in my view). Having said that, one of the perplexing things about this team is how infrequently the team seems to want to try and steal. The team isn't loaded with speed but Gimenez, Bateman, McAdoo etc. have seemed pretty loathe to run. Not sure why given the clear need to manufacture runs.

I'm generally less of a fan of saying steal on a pitch than saying you are free to steal if comfortable. In general I agree but not in this particular situation. The team should have known that runners have a 100% success rate vs Jansen and Vlad is tied for 4th in the majors in GIDP with 19. It's the manager's job to know these things and make strategic decisions such as sending McAdoo explicitly with a critical game on the line in the 9th inning. McAdoo is a rookie who clearly doesn't trust his own speed but this scenario absolutely called for it IMO. If he stole with Vlad up the team would have had 2 or 3 chances to drive him in with 1 hit.

I bet Schneider did not know that stat.

I bet Schneider did not know that stat.

I'd suggest it's someone's job to know this and ensure the coaching staff is aware. And if you're correct they didn't know, it is still obvious that Jansen is very slow to the plate and had used his 2 disengagements already. The GIDP tendencies of Vlad and Kirk are clearly well known as well, as is McAdoo's speed.

My Tapia comment was hyperbole, but don't sleep on how close they are.

2022 Tapia: 91 wRC+, .114 ISO, .293 wOBA, 7 HR (433 PA)
2026 Vlad: 97 wRC+, .099 ISO, .308 wOBA, 9 HR (578 PA)

Before Vlad's 4-5 game against the Orioles on Saturday, he had a 93 wRC+ on the season.

I'm firmly in the camp that says projections don't matter this late in the season. In June if you want to stick Vlad at 2nd/3rd in the lineup because of his history, then no problem. In September? After nearly 600 PA and a 79 wRC+ since May 1? You might want to consider this season a down year and adjust accordingly. Games like last night show why.

Part of it may be Schneider’s natural caution/conservatism, which I would argue was exemplified several times last night:

-Leaving Soriano in for a long time as the Tigers mounted a rally against him (because you shouldn’t pull a veteran SP who had been pitching a no-hitter until recently)

-Using Mantiply in the eighth against the best Tigers hitters (because a closer should normally be saved for the ninth)

-Not sending McAdoo (because you don’t want the potentially tying run to get cut down on the basepaths)

-Leaving Keys and Schneider on the bench (because veterans have earned more status than young players)

Sometimes (often?) caution/conservatism is a good thing in MLB managing, but being excessively cautious in the wrong situations can create its own risks. Of course, it’s not always easy to identify the situations where you should take a calculated risk. Decisions can and do backfire.

Another example of excessive caution by the manager/coaches was keeping IKF too closely anchored to third base in the World Series last year.

"I'm firmly in the camp that says projections don't matter this late in the season. In June if you want to stick Vlad at 2nd/3rd in the lineup because of his history, then no problem. In September? After nearly 600 PA and a 79 wRC+ since May 1? You might want to consider this season a down year and adjust accordingly. Games like last night show why."

Thank you SK in NJ! This should work just fine for the two remaining Detroit games.

I don't accept the fact that Rogers wasn't available with the season on the line having thrown 23 pitches the two nights before. If he was, Schneider simply must stop using his best relievers with four run leads.

Schneider using his best relievers with a four run lead is what got him into the problem last night.

Agreed about Schneider treating a 4 run lead like a save situation. He's done it for years and it's increasingly frustrating each time.

"I personally don't look at results in a particular game (like LOB) to describe performance. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. took a walk after a good challenge, and hit one ball 100 mph at 27 degrees which went 375 feet. The results weren't great, but if he keeps doing that, he'll hit some more home runs before the end of the year. "

You were watching a very different game than I was. Vlad an awful game and awful process.
First AB: Runner on 1st and 2nd nobody out. 2-1 pitch, swung a ball inside. Hit soft groundout with full count
Second AB: Bases loaded. Hit a feeble grounder on 1-1 count.
3rd AB: Walks
4th AB: Runner on first. Hit ball hard but it was an 85 MPH slider that was over the middle of the plate. Does a deserve plaudits for making a hard out on a milk ball?
5th AB: 1st base, nobody out. Struck out looking on 4 pitches with the K pitch being as close to the middle of the zone as to the edge.

Yes, results don't always tell the whole story. I've seen guys have great looking games and go 0-4 but that wasn't what happened here. Vlad looked terrible and had terrible results just like most of the year.

Mantiply has been quite good for the Jays. Little, since he got back, has been even better.

The 8th inning went sideways but that shit happens sometimes, the Tigers have a good offense, it's not like it was Chase Lee or Matt Waldron.



About Vlad, here's what's notable to me:

In September his line is .308/.362/.481/.843

I have no idea what the advanced metrics say because I've never developed the skills to look them up and understand them (I assume there's probably some Fangraph filter I never even looked for because I'm a creature of habit)

THE BR page I'm using says the BABiP is .350 so that's part of it, but it also says the WPA is -0.212 something called Base Outs Runs Added which SEEMS to be a situational metric if I understand it has him just a tic below average in September, so maybe better analysis would revel this improvement isn't reflected in leverage?

I don't know. But on the surface numbers, that's basically 2025 Vlad.

If it was me managing, and nobody would want that, I’d have Vladdy on the bench and Keys at first today.

I think you have to play Vladdy. You can’t bench him with 11 games left, and one game removed from when he was 4/4 with a home run. Maybe he’ll be great over the rest of the month, maybe not. Also, his defense is excellent.

Just have to play the games and hope you end up with a WC spot. There’s no magic move the manager can make to make this happen.

One thing the manager could do is give Keys a start at DH if Springer would benefit from a day off.

Shi sketches out the rotation the rest of the way:

Santander not making his planned start in Buffalo.

Trey Yesavage did not get out of the first inning tonight, two hits, one walk and a ton of foul balls. In total he threw 34 pitches.

yesavage pitches


FA 93.0 foul
FA 93.4 foul
ST 82.4 ball
ST 82.6 ball
ST 87.0 ball
FA 93.8 groundout 97.5ev

ST 81.3 strike
FA 93.1 ball
FA 92.9 foul
SL 86.5 ball
SL 86.5 ball
FA 92.9 foul
FA 92.8 foul
ST 81.0 foul
FA 93.7 ball

SL 86.4 strike
ST 81.8 swinging strike
ST 81.7 foul
FA 94.4 foul
SL 87.1 foul
FA 94.2 flyout 85.2ev

FA 92.4 foul
FA 93.0 ball
FA 92.8 foul
SL 86.2 foul
SL 87.5 foul
FA 93.5 foul
FA 93.5 double 102.0ev

FA 92.9 strike
FA 93.8 ball
FA 93.2 foul
FA 93.6 ball
ST 80.8 ball
FA 93.4 ground single 100.5ev

I'm genuinely not taking a shot at anyone or their comments but I am perplexed that the take away from last night's game was that bringing Mantiply into the game in the 8th was a grave managerial error that cost them the game. I think I was watching a different game.

Nigel the biggest cluster of comments were "why bring Mantiply in instead of Varland for 2 innings" not "why bring Mantiply in?

It's a comment done in retrospect as the result seems to show that Mantiply wasn't the right choice for the moment.

dalimon - whether its a good idea or not, modern managers simply do not bring in closers for 2 innings. I don't see it anywhere in baseball in the modern age. But my point is rather that the choice of 8th inning reliever is both: a) low on the list of reasons why the team lost; and B) whether Mantiply was or was not the right choice is incredibly nuanced (because of who was available, prior usage, handedness of hitters etc.) rather than black and white. It only looks black and white in a Monday Morning Quaterback context.

One pitch pop fly out by Guerrero Jr.

eh bringing in Mantiply to face the top of their order in a 1 run game in the 8th inning is definitely allowed to be questioned i think.

manager was looking ahead to the bullpen game both when he left soriano in and when he brought in mantiply, and ended up losing the game and burning his best reliever in the process.

all that being said, he's in a helluva tough situation with all the bullpen days.

That's surely not how they wanted Trey's night to go. Provokes a question about what comes next

Talk about playing under a microscope!

The Jays have 2, sometimes 3 (depending on which Scherzer shows up) bullpen games every 5 days. I'm not a fan of Schneider's pen usage, but having to navigate around at least 2 bullpen games every 5 days without completely destroying the pen (any more than he already does) is a lot. Mantiply probably doesn't see that inning if Miles didn't have to be a multi-inning opener, or Fisher didn't have to open the next day, etc. I'll cut Schneider some slack on that.

Batting Vladdy 3rd is a different story. I don't think even think the Battersbox "criticize and watch them go 4-4" mojo works on the 2026 version of him. If it did then it probably would have worked a long time ago.

uo - I definitely understand debating the choice of Mantiply. As I said, the choice was nuanced. It just wasn't a grievous error that cost them the game (or at least was low on the factors that cost them the game).

The handedness of the hitters in the 8th yesterday was less significant that it might seem on the surface, because Greene, a LHH, has hit lefties well this year (134 wRC+ compared to 139 wRC+ against RHP). So not much of a platoon advantage after the McGonigle PA.

Nigel, you say that managers don’t use closers for two innings, but JS ended up using Varland for 1.2 stressful innings. It probably would have been an easier outing for Varland had he started the eighth with none out and none on.

The choice of reliever at this time of year is not the same as the choice of reliever mid-season. The question in a tight race in mid-Sept is, do you want to play in October or not?

i mean it kinda did cost us the game.

Saving Fisher for a game that Lorenzen was the bulk guy (meaning a loss was a high probability) does seem a bit foolish in hindsight. Could have just used Mantiply as the opener tonight and tried to win last night’s game with Fisher. Ultimately it’s not an easy situation to navigate given the injuries but Schneider has to guess right with the lack of any margin for error.

In hindsight the Bieber injury might have been the death blow. They just couldn’t survive this level of injury to the rotation.

I can see Nigel's POV. He's reading it literally...did the manager make a decision that definitively cost us runs any more than the players failed to deliver in opportune ABs etc.

Here's the thing though, I think it goes without saying that it's never the managers fault and he can't really be blamed for most of anything. Of course it's on the players, but when I criticize JS it's not to say it was his fault and not the players but that if he had done a better job he could have prevented worse outcome.

Is it managers fault, no never, can a better manager or performance from the manager prevent outcomes...yes most definitely. So it's not his fault but he could have made better decisions to try to prevent the loss.

Guardians losing again (in a close game).

Blue Jays blowing opportunity after opportunity late in the season.

Schneider has had to deal with a lot this season and I generally think he's done a better job than last year (but has much less luck.) Biggest issue he's had to deal with is that you were expecting maybe 60 starts from Yesavage, Bieber, and Ponce and the Jays have instead, got half of that from them. Their next 3 starters up were Berrios, Francis, and Bloss and they combined for 0 innings this year. That is all to say, that pitching injuries were horrible this year and that caused a ton of stress on the rotation and bullpen which Schneider has mostly managed well. I do not like the way he's handled the offense and lineup as much. Just too conservative and too much sticking with his guys no matter what. Front Office messed up by giving him an unbalanced team and for a manager who loves to play RH/LH matchups so much, the team isn't really built at all for that. The Straw usage is a good example. Straw is 3rd in the majors in pinch hitting appearances! First two are Jahmai Jones and Grichuk, guys with big vs LHP splits. Straw has a career 74 WRC+ vs LHP (77 this year).

Cle trying to rally B9, runners on first and second with one out.

Now second and third with two out. Moment of truth for Cleveland — and maybe Toronto.

And that's how you do it -- Walk off double to win it for the Guardians.  Could feel that one coming...

Walk-off win for Cleveland. Had to be Rocchio with the game-winning hit again. That’s probably the end of the Blue Jays season with only 10G left.

Missed a chunk of the game tonight, turned it on, saw 6-0 against, turned it back off. Just checked, now 8-0. Ugh. No scoring, some terrible defense, some bad pitching. Sigh. Maybe it is best if they miss the playoffs - better draft pick, less pain at the end. The charge back was fun but I think we are near the end now - Cleveland won, Jays will lose, 2 game gap with 11 games left. Closer than we expected, stayed relevant longer that they deserved to, but they look like they'll come up short in the end.

My rant about Schneider being obsessed with pinch hitting Straw was pretty well-timed. Your down 8-1. Put Davis Schenider in man! Leave Lukes in there even. You don't need to pinch hit Straw every single opportunity.

Ok, I mentioned earlier that due to the circumstances I don't want to be too hard on Schneider for the bullpen decisions, but Mantiply pitching in back to back games, 1 being the highest of high leverage and the other being a blowout loss needs to be explained to me.

I was hoping that Schneider was some secret genius knowing that Straw had some crazy SSS PH split.

But alas, Myles' 2026 as a PH prior to tonight was 38 PAs, 3-32, 1 HR, 4 BB, 9 Ks, .094/211/188, OPS .398.

My question is - what's the point in pitching Arrighetti in a game you already lost when you want to "start" him Friday?

Also, I'd find it emotionally satisfying if Lorenzen were cut tomorrow.

I've been banging the drum for Suzuki in the off-season but I find this suggestion interesting.

If Sato can play a tolerable LF, there's something to be said for a 27 year old slugger who doesn't have a qualifying offer and won't need to be paid into his mid/late thirties... even if he hits LH

https://jaysjournal.com/blue-jays-success-with-kazuma-okamoto-could-lead-them-back-to-japan-in-free-agency

Tamra, who else do you pitch if not Arrighetti?

They'd used Fisher, Lorenzen, Cellucci and Little. Assume they decided to rest Rogers, Varland and Fluharty at that point.

That leaves Mantiply, Sewald and Arrighetti (unless I'm forgetting someone). Schneider either has to get through three innings with Sewald and Mantiply or use Arrighetti. I don't know what Sewald's max is, but both pitched last night, as well, albeit briefly. Either Schneider gambles on using them both to complete three or decides to use Arrighetti.

Neither is appealing, but I think it's a defensible decision.

Seawald for one, Straw for the other (but at the end of the game, not in that spot)

Mantiply in the 7th, Sewald in the 8th, Straw in the 9th unless some amazing comeback has occurred which then you shift to the leverage guys.

And that still leaves the question of why he saved Miles on Monday if he wasn't going to pitch in this game. I guess after Lorenzen coughed it up it would seem like a waste.

On the season, there's a lot to be said for being one of the best teams (by record) in the last third of the season even if you fall a game or two short.

There's some confidence there that there IS a god foundation for next year and not a sloppy mess.

Kirk, Kaz, Bateman, Smith and Springer (all but one(?) of which should be back next year) have actually been quite good over that span. It's true that if they don't sort out Vlad they've got a big issue next year still but they're stuck with that.

As others have noted, the failure of this season isn't on management - there's no way to prepare for or adjust to THAT MANY pitching injuries. In fact, to even be contending (weak league aside) in that context is praiseworthy.

I could/will accept missing the playoffs but for one regret - the rest of the league is so flawed that a hot October could see a repeat of Arizona's run a few years back and I'll hate it if they miss the chance to try to make that happen.

I feel confident saying that a better manager would have an easy 4 or 5 extra wins with this exact roster today.

dalimon5 - I more or less agree with you. Schneider just seems like too set in his ways to ever make obvious changes - and yet he also plays the "hot hand" to death.. Alas, if Davis Schneider could have hit a bit this season, we might have rested Ernie some, avoided Lenyn Sosa, etc.. And if Kirk hadn't been out for 3 months.. might have still pulled it out.

Sooooo many pitchers going down just seems to have finally caught up to us. I did think late May or June (forget which) that Yimi was done, and Bieber and Yesavage weren't going to be major factors for us, and that has turned out to mostly be the case. Not sure if I would resign Bieber at this point - the injuries just don't seem to be healing for longer than few months at this point before another one pops up - unless he takes a long time off, I don't see him throwing a full season ever again. Of course, now he'll go 5 seasons without missing a start :-)

 Let's hope Yesavage can be healthy for next season. 

The problem with the anti-Schneider stuff is it is well known the club tells him what to do. All teams have a team of stats guys and coaches who dig into everything before a game and tell the manager 'in this situation do xyz, in that do abc, etc.' and generally the manager follows that prescription. They won't ever say it of course, but there isn't a real choice in most cases. Their #1 job is to keep the clubhouse happy/players productive. He seems to have the clubhouse in good shape despite the disaster this year was for the first half, thus leading to a stronger 2nd half.

To me the #1 good thing is Bateman - after Springer proved he isn't a leadoff hitter anymore there was a need, and a CF was going to be needed with Varsho leaving as a free agent if he wasn't traded (most likely). Now we have a cheap CF for another 6 years who is strong on defense and is channeling Tony Gwynn with the bat. The K% is a touch higher than I'd like for a guy with his speed, but the package is there with his overall 328/397/425 line after tonight.

Okamoto has been wonderful overall, streaky as heck but that power is nice. Valenzuela was a nice surprise but has slumped badly in the backup role with a 38 wRC+ since July 1st (yikes!) Kirk at 140 over that same stretch so I guess it balanced out. FYI: Heinemann has just a 36 wRC+ since leaving so a tiny bit worse than Valenzuela but not by much.

Mound wise, Cease has been everything we could've dreamed of, Miles a major shock as a rule 5, Varland took over the closer role quite nicely, Rogers a solid setup man as expected, and Yesavage was looking good before the injury. Soriano has had his issues but overall is nice to have after Cease in the rotation.

I like a LOT of the parts for '27 (assuming that season happens) with some tweaking this team could be damn good - ideally find a 2B who can hit, a LF who can as well. Shift Lukes and Clement (both 'nice guys') into backup roles rather than everyday ones. Ideally add another high end starter (Skubal would look sweet wouldn't he? Rogers can afford him).

This team seems to enjoy/thrive on having their backs against the wall. Now would be a great time for a 10 game winning streak

I think best manager to worst manager isn't even 4-5 games. We like to complain and it's our right as fans, but most of the things we complain about don't matter that much. Like, Jays pinch hit Straw yesterday which drives me crazy. Do they win the game if they do something else? No. There are also a ton of things that we are not privy to. We don't how changes would effect that. We don't know always when someone is a little sore. When a pitcher needs an extra day, etc...The manager's main job is to keep the clubhouse happy and players content and Schneider is very good at that. The team culture, despite a season from hell, is still very good.

For those of you in downtown we just got this invitation at the batters box email:

What: Heritage Toronto: Diamond Park Plaque Reveal at Left Field Brewery

When: Monday October 19, 2026

Where: Left Field Brewery (Liberty Village)
40 Hanna Ave., Ste G1, Toronto, ON M6K 1A5
Paid Parking on South Side of Liberty Street & Hanna Ave.

Time:: 2:00pm


They are asking for RSVP's so if you want to go let me know and I can forward the invite to you.

Strange month honestly... Jays have gone 1-4 against the A's and Tigers so far which has put a huge dent in their playoff chances.
The offence, despite appearing to not look great, actually has almost every regular above league average  in wRC+ for the month so far.

Keys: 197Kaz: 194
Smith: 184
Bateman: 150
Vlad: 128
Kirk: 124
Lukes: 109
Springer: 103
Straw: 103
Gimenez: 96
Clement: 37

The team has a wRC+ of 116 this month which is good for 4th in the AL. Issue is it seems to be all or nothing some days and the pitching has struggled given the injuries.

I do wish they'd give Keys some more run but doesn't seem like it'll ever happen.

Alas, if Davis Schneider could have hit a bit this season, we might have rested Ernie some, avoided Lenyn Sosa, etc.

God knows Davis has been awful, but somehow Sosa was even worse, doesn't have anything close to Davis' history of success, and doesn't even have a moustache.

The decision to acquire and then regularly play Lenyn Sosa will remain one of the most mind-boggling things this front office has done.

Following this team has helped me gain some valuable insight into the psychology of Republicans who hate the president but still kind of want him to win the election.

Here is one explanation for the Sosa acquisition.

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/beat-up-blue-jays-acquire-lenyn-sosa-from-white-sox/

I don't think that Fangraphs piece offers much of an explanation beyond "maybe he's not bad". It does mention injuries - to a bunch of outfielders, which does not help explain, imho, the acquisition of a 2B.

If we somehow catch Cleveland, it is worth noting that we should be a much harder team to play in the postseason, where our greatest weakness - lack of starting pitchers - is minimized. If we can get Cease/Soriano both into the wild-card we stand a decent chance.

our greatest weakness - lack of starting pitchers -

OPS+ of the 11 most used hitters  from one year to the next


Player   2025 2026

Gimenez    66   77  +11
Kirk      111  113   +2
Barger    104  101   -3 (Sanchez) 
Lukes      99   95   -4
Clement    94   84  -10
Straw      86   75  -11
Bichette  128  111  -17 (Okamoto)
Varsho    121   87  -34
Guerrero  132   92  -40
Schneider 118   81  -37 (Valenzuela)
Springer  160  104  -56

Hey, remember when David Popkins was a genius?

On the offensive front (pun intended), its not just the absolute fall off in hitting its also when the hitting has occurred. Last year the Jays were first in BABIP with RISP and 2nd in OPS+ with RISP (behind the Dodgers). This year they are 27th in BABIP with RISP and 28th in OPS+ with RISP. In terms of run prevention, most of the difference in runs allowed from last year to this is attributable to a fall off (particularly in the 1st half) in team defence. People are forgetting that the starters last year were somewhere between mediocre to poor on the whole (with exceptions of course) and they are fully appreciating just how good the pen has been this year. Albeit in different components, the pitching, on the whole, has been very similar year to year.

What an atrocious lineup today. Finally playing Smith at 2B but it's to give Gimenez a breather at SS, not sit Clement against a RHP. Keys not playing again. Was incredible at AAA and Jays just never play him. Straw who is one of the worst hitters in baseball starts in LF. I know David S. Was awful this year but he still has a 103 WRC+ career and was very hot at AAA. You don't have to play Straw this much!!! (Jays probably score 9 runs with this lineup).

How hard is it to teach Valenzuela not to challenge 1-1 counts with the bases empty in the first inning? Springer couldn't challenge a CLEAR ball called a strike in a 2-1 count with two men on because Vali senselessly busted a challenge earlier. Sigh.

As the, shall we say, more seasoned Bauxites around here often remind us (MG, Magpie, and Chuck), managers who've had playoff success with players in the past, often stick with them well beyond a level where a neutral or less loyal manager would. Cito kept running Joe Carter, Ed Sprague, and a few other remnants from the 92-93 teams out there because of his loyalty to them. John Schneider looks to be the same for Ernie Clement, and to a lesser extent, Myles Straw. Ernie should not be playing everyday thanks to his dismal offensive numbers, as someone earlier pointed out. Now that Sanchez is gone, there is no way Straw should be used for anything else other than defensive replacement and pinch runner.

Gimenez has hamstring soreness, which is why he's not playing today, I assume. I can understand not using Smith and Schneider as the middle infield in that scenario and opting to play Clement.

However, I agree that not using Keys and playing Straw instead is baffling.

I don't think that their is a "Straw v Keys" choice. Springer is barely able to run to 1B these days so there is no chance that he's going into the field. Keys is not a LFer period. The choice is Keys v Springer/Vladdy/Okamoto (take your pick).

Straw is 2/2 with and RBI.

I think they’re just trying to go with their best defence. The offence sucks, so build on a strength.

I mentioned in one of the minor league threads that I don't think Keys is on this team by the time 2027 starts (whenever that is), and nothing about his usage so far has changed that opinion. They've treated Bateman like a 10 year vet with the amount of playing time he's gotten. They will find a way to play who they like. With 1B/3B occupied, and DH being more of a veteran position, I think we will see Keys moved, for better or worse.

"They've treated Bateman like a 10 year vet with the amount of playing time he's gotten."

Maybe that is because he'e been the most valuable Blue Jay since he was inserted into the lineup and the 10th most valuable position player in MLB.

Bateman has been incredible. If this is anything close to the real version of him, the Blue Jays pulled off a coup at the deadline.
The Blue Jays losing game 1 of this series still grates. If the Blue Jays had won the series, they would still be in the thick of the WC hunt (because even though Cleveland won 2 of 3 against CWS, CWS lost 2 of 3 against Cleveland).

Bateman should be getting this playing time. I think it's very likely a mirage but you have to ride these sorts of hot streaks and the only other option really at CF is Straw.

Yes I agree that Keys is only option for Springer, Vladdy, and and Okamoto but those guys are banged up enough/ot good enough vs RHP to prevent keys from ever playing imo. Not saying he should be playing everyday, but play him most of the time against RHP or at least sometimes!

Bullpen choices in gm1 really hurt now.

Thankfully, this roster is good enough to make the playoffs anyways.

I'm not saying Bateman hasn't been great, he has been and deserves his time based on how he's performed, but my point was that the team plays who they like, and finds a way not to play who they don't. They clearly see Bateman as a long-term piece and his playing time has shown that. See 2023 and 2025 Davis Schneider as the opposite example. I don't think they would have called up Keys to have him rot on the bench if they actually wanted him to be a 2027-beyond piece. They would have found a way to get him PA's, even if it wasn't optimal.

Ho-hum, another two innings of scoreless baseball from Spencer Miles to get to 91.2 innings. Not his best day, but still added to his remarkable season. Not only is his success shocking, but it's amazing that a guy who pitched a total of 23 innings in four years after being drafted should turn into our most rubber-armed reliever since vintage Duane Ward.

He's not rubber-armed and there will be a price to pay eventually, but it's in everybody's interest to push him now.

Reminds me a bit of Thomas Hatch.
He was excellent in 20, but in 21 the velo was down and it didn't play anymore after they tried to make him a starter.
He's been to Japan and bounced around, current with the Twins.

Anthony Kay was fantastic for the White Sox this year but has seemingly ran out of fuel. Era under 2 in May, but over 8 in September.

The biggest difference is that they traded Varsho to make room for Bateman. They weren't sure if he was worth a try but he immediately broke out. What else can they do but play him.

Not sure if they considered trading Springer or if he vetoed it, but he's here and he's playing.

They have Santander, Keys and Barger fighting for playing time next year. It would be hard not to bring a vet given Guerrero's lack of production, so they likely trade someone and Santander has no value.

Hopefully Spencer Miles' MLB career going forward goes better than Joe Biagini's.

Chisox are on a 5-12 run.

Yeah, but they play the Tigers, the Royals and the Rockies.
If they go 5-5, Jays need to go 7-2.

Miles looks more dominant than Hatch or Biagini. Throws harder. Baseball Savant stats way better (96th percentile Pitching Run Value and 98th percentile FB Run Value is top-tier elite). Subjectively, his stuff looks excellent and his demeanour/competitiveness appears elite.

If he can stay healthy, he should continue to be a gem for the Blue Jays.

So probably need to go something like 7-2 to make the playoffs…just a guess.

Tigers are on an 8-3 run. Royals 18-12.

grit your teeth and root for the Red Sox and what does it get you?

Last 365 days:

255/323/347 = OPS 670
227/293/336 = OPS 629

Which one is paid $50M, and which one should only be brought in for defensive purposes? Yeah, you can probably guess, but the two lines aren't THAT different from each other - and one player has good to great defense at challenging positions and generally good speed. And runs out every ground ball.

Royals have cooked off and are 4-6 recently.
Colorado is 1-9.

If one of White Sox or Guardians had swept that series the Jays would be in a better position regarding WC3 - I don't get the argument that some posters made that a 2-1 series result would be better for the Jays chances.

"So probably need to go something like 7-2 to make the playoffs…just a guess."

7-2 takes them to 83 wins. Now, they have 2 teams ahead of them and White Sox have tie-breaker which makes it tougher although Jays play Rangers directly so very much still in control. I don't think opponent matters that much unless it's one of the few very good teams or the worst few and White Sox play Rockies which is very bad. Still, have 7 games against Tigers and Royals though. It's a very tough schedule to go 7-2 in for the Jays but it's hardly impossible. I just have zero faith in their offense right now even though the offense has been much better in September.

The big questions for me about Miles next season is that he's gone from pitching about 22 innings combined the last 3 seasons to approaching 100 innings this season in a major league environment.

If the Jays had won the series, which is what we were hoping for, they'd be in a pretty good position to make the playoffs with the Guardians taking 2 out of 3. It would have set up a situation where 6-3 likely gets you in.

If the Jays had won the series against Detroit they would be sitting in the WC3 spot regardless of which team had swept the White Sox/Guardians series.

I'd trade Miles in the offseason to help find the middle of the order bat that they desperately need. He and Yesavage must be the most valuable trade chips that they have right now along with Parker.

I don't want to trade very strong and huge asset players of course but its the only way you're going to get a bonafide bat back. So let me rephrase and say IF they can get a top 4 bat back I would trade Miles as part of a package for that.

As bad as the offense looks it will be worse without Springer next year.

The front office’s recent strengths have been identifying and signing quality FAs (Gausman, Cease, Okamoto, Rogers) and making value trades for hidden gems (Bateman, Varland, Fisher, Smith). They’ve also sometimes done well in acquiring released or Rule 5 players (Clement, Miles).

You could argue that they should focus on those avenues of adding talent (plus the draft and IFA routes, of course), as opposed to gambling on blockbuster trades.

The team seems to have a good foundation for next year, although who knows how healthy the returning pitchers will be.

As good as Bateman's been, I don't think you can guarantee him a spot in the outfield next year. Santander, Lukes, Barger, Smith, McAdoo, and possibly even Schneider and Straw have earned the chance to have at least a platoon spot.

It's impossible to say what the trade market will look like, but this team needs to be very active in all three areas you mentioned greenfrog. If a blockbuster trade makes sense, you do it, regardless of how good you've been finding hidden gems or hitting on free agent starters.

If a team like the Nationals would take Kirk-Miles-prospect for a guy like CJ Abrams, that's a blockbuster you'd probably have to do.

Unsurprisingly for such an injury-riddled season, we are approaching the record for most players used in a season. The record, as best I can determine is 63 in 2018, and we are currently at 62.

We have blown past the previous record of players to make their MLB debuts with the Jays this year, with 15 guys making it to the show. The previous record appears to have been 11 in 2002.

They have extended so few players that it would be ridiculous to trade Kirk, except if a young prospect pushed him out. That's not likely to happen.

Good CFs are rarely available on the market.
Bateman has been great, cost nothing and has options.
Most other teams have options at CF.
The Jays have Luke who is a platoon player.

If anything, other GMs will call about Soriano.

Keith Law has an article up on prospects where he “was way too low on (his) projections for their major-league careers.” The prospects are Jacob Misiorowski, Ben Rice, Otto Lopez, Kyle Leahy. It’s refreshing when MLB writers own their missteps or blind spots.

To Law's credit he's been doing this for years. Still remember his Devon Travis mea culpa after his "failed prospect for non-prospect" comment at the time of the Gose trade.

In the end, while considered a heel at the time, Law was correct about Cavan Biggio not being a MLB regular when he burst on to the scene in 2019 along with Bichette & Guerrero Jr.

Biggio missed the ABS era and didn't have enough power once they deadened the ball.

Watched a few innings of Tigers/White Sox and man, the Tigers played some awful baseball. Torres didn't go to second on a ball off LF wall. Next hitter doubles but he doesn't score because he's on first. Next inning, Torkelson got thrown out on a ball of LF wall. Then two innings later, another guy makes the third out at 3B on an infield single. Just painful.

Not that Law was wrong, but Biggio had a better career than many - a league-average hitter for his career, good baserunner, 6-7 WAR over 1900+ PA. We just had unreasonable expectations.

I do still believe, however, that the Jays shouldn't have jerked him around the diamond. If they had him be the strong side of a 2B platoon and let him concentrate on hitting, I think he would have had a more productive career.

Not that Law was wrong, but Biggio had a better career than many - a league-average hitter for his career, good baserunner, 6-7 WAR over 1900+ PA. We just had unreasonable expectations.

I do still believe, however, that the Jays shouldn't have jerked him around the diamond. If they had him be the strong side of a 2B platoon and let him concentrate on hitting, I think he would have had a more productive career.

Red Sox managed to pull one out. Now it's on the Jays to go into Texas and do better than Boston did.

Houston won so they're back a game up on the Rangers

White Sox won.

So the central is tied, Toronto and Texas are both 2 games out of the WC and Baltimore is 3 - no one else matter (apart from Houston)
Detroit would have to win out to finish .500 and if the Angels finish off the Twins no one else CAN reach .500

The Jays probably need to go at least 7-2 to make the playoffs. A tall task with 3 starters.

I thought the main issue with Biggio was that he never fully recovered from his neck/back issue in 2021. It sapped his power and he couldn't handle a fastball, and he had to either wait out a walk or hope the pitcher hung a breaking ball.

Not totally dissimilar to Devon Travis, who was off to a nice start before he wrecked his shoulder.

Definitely some tragic irony that Cavan spends the whole season in AAA in the year where ABS finally gets implemented in the majors.

Looking at his 2026 AAA stats, where I assume the ABS is also still being used, he's certainly doing a Davis Schneider impression.

104 BBs, 19% BB rate, 21% K rate, ISO .186, OBP .387, BA in the. 230s.

Looks like he split the season with Houston's AAA club between 2B & 1B, with a dozen or so games in LF.

Would be nice to see Biggio get some more run somewhere. But given he has always been a little older than Bo & Vlad, he'll be 32 next April if & when baseball starts again.

Biggio had elite plate discipline.
He had an uppercut swing but pedestrian bat speed.

He mostly played 2B in college and A ball but they started using him as a super-utility way back in AA.

Good or bad he landed this team a sold relief arm. Predicting failed major leaguers must be the easiest job...