Hot off one of the most exciting seasons in recent memory, the Blue Jays were crowned the American League East champions for the first time in a decade.
It’s time to celebrate in the six. After a second half of the season that was filled with a lot of doubt, Toronto became the last team to clinch its division. This is the first time since 2023 that the Jays are headed to the playoffs. Last time the Jays were in the playoffs was in the wildcard round, where they fell in a lacklustre effort to the Minnesota Twins.
Manager John Schneider was ecstatic after their playoff clinching win against the Royals, praising his team for their strong family-like bond and willingness to improve.
“This is the most fulfilling team I’ve ever been a part of, with different characters, different skillsets, guys coming together for one common goal, which is what’s important now,” said Schneider. “This is something you always celebrate.”
Fans had grown frustrated with the Blue Jays manager after a dreadful 2024 campaign, which saw the Jays miss out on the playoffs completely.
“I’m just so happy,” Schneider said. “It’s hard at this level for everyone to put their egos aside and to play for one another. It’s so cool to see these guys completely happy for one another when they get the job done, no matter who it is.”
Post-game, the Jays were popping champagne and drinking beers — though Vladimir Guerrero Jr. made it known that there was more to accomplish than just making the postseason. In a Kobe Bryant-esque quote, Guerrero talked about the near future for this team, saying “the job is not finished.”
Toronto has unfinished business heading into the postseason. In recent years, they’ve failed to meet expectations with Vladdy and Bo Bichette as the two main stars of the team.
Since that playoff clinching win, the Jays have been making their fans sweat. They had lost six of their last seven games and were trending in the wrong direction at the worst possible time. With just four games left in the season, the Jays had to win all four to secure that coveted division title. Riding a cold offensive streak, Toronto would pick up a huge win against the Boston Red Sox in their final game of the series before sweeping away the Tampa Bay Rays at home, capped off by an electric final game of the season that featured all the stakes in the world.
The Yankees were tied with the Blue Jays for the top spot in the division, with Toronto holding the tiebreaker. It all came down to the final game against the Rays that saw the Jays make history, claiming the division.
Before this huge win, the Jays were tail spinning offensively, looking for anyone to help.
Since going down with a knee injury a couple of weeks ago, Bichette’s impact on the Jays team is clearly missed. Schneider was looking for a new spark as the offence had seemingly died out, with no explanation other than the loss of the league leader in hits. With the return of Anthony Santander to the lineup in their series against the Red Sox, Toronto hoped that he could provide a spark, especially for a player who has proven that he can be one of the most electric hitters in baseball.
“It feels like the sky is falling right now and it’s f***ing not,” said Schneider.
Toronto’s manager still believes in his guys down the stretch, regardless of how the offence has looked recently.
With all that being said, the microscope has been all over Guerrero. Since Bichette went down with his injury, Vladdy has had one of the most disappointing stretches of his career. For a guy who signed such a groundbreaking contract earlier in the year, it was expected that he would carry the team on his back through stretches like these where the team looked like they had no life. However, it’s been the complete opposite, as Vladdy has not hit a home run since Bichette’s injury and has seemingly lost the ability to get an extra-base hit. If the Jays want any chance of reliving their glory days of those ’90s championship teams, their superstar needs to play like he wants to be there.
As for the pitching, the Jays are stuck in a weird spot with half of their starting rotation not looking nearly good enough to pitch in a playoff game. Since his dominant complete game earlier in the season, Kevin Gausman has been the name most assume Schneider will throw out for the first game of the postseason. Behind him, Shane Bieber will more than likely be starting in game two. After that, however, is where things start to get interesting.
Since his first start against the Royals, Trey Yesavage has shown signs of being able to pitch consistently at the major league level. With only two other starts under his belt, it would be extremely risky to send a rookie to the mound to start a playoff game, regardless of whether he’s pitched well in his first couple of outings.
To this point, none of the other Jays’ starters have proven why they deserve a spot over Yesavage. An argument can be made for José Berríos, who was just recently moved to the bullpen after a lackluster season that saw him finish most of his outings before the sixth inning. Berríos has put his heart and soul into this Blue Jays team since coming to Toronto. Former Blue Jays outfielder Whit Merrifield took to Instagram to back his former teammate and discuss his importance to the Blue Jays team.
“That man is doing what he can to be a better baseball player, to help his team and to be a better teammate,” Merrifeild said. “There’s nobody that I’ve ever played with that works harder than José Berríos. […] That’s the kind of guy you rally behind.”
No matter how hard a player works or what they’ve proven in the past, if he hasn’t shown this year that he’s worth starting in a playoff game, then what’s the choice?
Other players like Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt have lost almost all trust in the coaching staff after both players had weak ends to their seasons.
With the season now at its official end, the Blue Jays can not only celebrate a playoff spot, but also a division title. Toronto did what they were supposed to do: beat the Rays at home and make sure the Yankees had no chance of catching up to them in the standings. Alejandro Kirk had his legacy afternoon in the final game of the Rays series where he hit two home runs, including a grand slam, to propel the Jays over Tampa in a 13-4 thwomping. With a bye to the second round, the Jays get to sit and watch two division rivals in the Yankees and Red Sox duke it out in the wild card round to see who comes to Toronto on Oct. 4.