KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As the Aug. 3 trade deadline approached and it became clear the Toronto Blue Jays were headed for some degree of subtraction, manager John Schneider and GM Ross Atkins made a point of speaking to key players. Those conversations, Schneider said, were “very deliberate,” explaining that the club wasn’t planning to “sell our entire (expletive) roster,” adding that “we are going to continue to compete.”
“Saying that was important every day,” he added, “and the guys believing that and then going out and playing the way they've been playing, that was kind of what we tried to do, both transactionally and communicating.”
In the month since, vision has become reality as the Blue Jays piled up series wins, climbed up the cluttered wild-card standings and steadily worked to even their record, returning to the .500 mark Friday with a 9-2 thumping of the Kansas City Royals.
At 71-71, they sit a game back of the Cleveland Guardians (72-70), who twice walked off the Detroit Tigers in a doubleheader sweep Friday, for the American League’s third wild-card spot, and moved a game ahead of the Texas Rangers (70-72). And with a seventh victory in nine outings, the Blue Jays got back to level for the first time since June 22, when a 4-2 win over the Houston Astros pulled them to 39-39.
A long slide followed that victory, and they sat a season-worst 10-games under .500 on July 28 at 49-59, while their playoff odds fell to a season-low 4.3 per cent on Aug. 5, per Fangraphs.
That stretch, combined with the emotional deadline deals that sent off Kevin Gausman, Daulton Varsho and Jeff Hoffman, could easily have capsized the club. Instead, the acquisition of ace-calibre righty Jose Soriano, along with the adds of Brett Bateman (part of the return for Gausman), Josh Smith, Spencer Arrighetti and Jameson Taillon, combined with various internal improvements and contributions, turned around their season.
“We're a really good baseball team,” said Ernie Clement, who capped a four-run first with a two-run double. “It was kind of only a matter of time before things started clicking. We started just playing our game and figuring out our team identity and figuring out a lineup and things like that. There have been so many moving pieces throughout the whole year. It's just nice to finally have some solid grasp of who we are and who's going to be in this room. And everything aside, now it's just go win and it's been much better.”
The Blue Jays are 22-12 since they last fell 10 games under, and their post-season hopes have gone from longshot outlier to a one-in-three probability, the club’s faith in itself suddenly rewarded.
“I mean, you've got a group that was in Game 7 of the World Series last year, so of course you're going to believe,” said Max Scherzer, who starts Saturday against Seth Lugo looking to push his team to a winning record for the first time since they were 4-3 on April 3. “We overcame a lot last year, and that's why this group believes in each other. Now granted, these challenges are different, and we've got things to overcome, and there are a lot of great ballclubs that can beat us right now. We have different challenges. The league's coming after us; every year is different. But at the end of the day, you've got a core group here that's been there. Of course you're going to have that belief.”
Even among the good times, the challenges continue as Taillon, activated off the injured list before the game, left his start after two innings and 29 pitches with right elbow discomfort and was slated to get an MRI after the game. His velocity was down on both his sinker and four-seamer but up on his changeup before he left, while he surrendered a long Bobby Witt Jr. homer on a cutter in the first.
A roster move for Saturday is likely, with the Blue Jays debating between length or another short relief piece for the bullpen, with the just-optioned Ricky Tiedemann making sense on that front.
More complex is how to backfill for Taillon in a rotation that had just gotten back to full strength with his return, as while Trey Yesavage and Shane Bieber are both making progress, they’ll still need time.
“I feel for (Taillon) right now after battling his way back and still feeling it a little bit. He said he warmed up fine and was making progress,” said Schneider. “He said it felt a little bit more nerve-y, if that makes sense. He's been through this a little bit, so said it feels a little different than the previous injury. See what the MRI says.”
The early offence against Daniel Lynch IV helped cushion the Blue Jays on Friday, allowing Schneider to limit the strain on his bullpen.
Joe Mantiply threw two innings, Braydon Fisher and Brendon Little followed with a clean frame each before Michael Lorenzen handled the final three frames.
Clement, Alejandro Kirk and George Springer each drove in two runs while Sean Keys added a solo shot in the ninth, his second in the majors and his 30th this season when combined with the 14 he hit at each of the double-A and triple-A levels.
The offence has been timely as the Blue Jays have scored six or more runs in five of their last seven games.
“We can just go play and play to win,” said Clement. “We pretty much have our roles set and know what we need to do. Now we just get to go out and play, and play to win. It's the best time of year for that.”
That’s among the many reasons Schneider said reaching .500 this time “definitely does” feel different than the last time back in June.
“It feels good to get back to that point, but I like the way that we've done it,” he explained. “It's been a little bit more consistent. It's been a little more clean. It has been a little bit more complete.”
And it’s been the way the Blue Jays hoped it would be when they prepared for the trade deadline.
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