Toronto has gone from a team competing for a World Series title last fall to one sitting last in the American League East. The division is gone. The wild card is the only path left.
A win over Boston Tuesday night improved the record to 58-63, 12 fewer wins than the club had at the same point last season.
Tampa Bay leads the AL East, followed by the Yankees, with a resurgent Boston team in third after lengthy win streaks through July and August. Baltimore sits fourth at 58-62, with Toronto right behind in fifth.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, only two teams have stood at 58-63 through 121 games and still made the playoffs in the wild-card era: the 2024 Detroit Tigers and the 2009 Minnesota Twins.
Elias's Randy Robles believes "there's some hope," noting that if there was ever a year for a struggling team to still have a shot, this is it, given how poorly so many American League teams have played.
Why the bats remain the biggest problem
Toronto has clawed back with series wins over Washington, St. Louis, Houston and Philadelphia in recent weeks, a trend that has to continue.
"They gotta get to .500," Robles said, and the Texas Rangers, currently holding the third wild card spot, sat just one game above that mark before Tuesday.
Every team chasing that spot, Toronto included, currently has a losing record. As Toronto Star columnist Mike Wilner put it, "Every team in front of the Blue Jays kind of stinks. The problem is, the Blue Jays kind of stink, too."
Dylan Cease anchors a thin rotation and remains in the Cy Young race, going five innings and striking out seven against Boston Tuesday. Jose Soriano looked solid in his Blue Jays debut, while Shane Bieber has battled for consistency since rejoining the team in June.
Max Scherzer has delivered two decent starts this month. "We have a job to do," Scherzer told CBC News. "Every time we come to the park, we've got to win."
Closer Louis Varland and workhorse Tyler Rogers anchor a bullpen that will also lean on Spencer Miles, Braydon Fisher and Mason Fluharty down the stretch.
The offense remains the real issue. Toronto sits near the bottom of the majors in home runs, runs scored and on-base percentage. Only Kazuma Okamoto, with 24 home runs, and George Springer, with 12, have reached double digits, down from four players with 20-plus homers last season.
It's a bit like trying to climb a ladder with half the rungs missing, the opportunity is technically there, but the path up looks a lot harder than it should.
Do you believe the Blue Jays can still climb into a wild card spot this season?
Also read on Blue Jays Insider :
New details emerge regarding George Springer's future in Toronto
