TORONTO — We have known for a while that there will be no pennant race in Toronto. It’s the first time in five years — since 2019 — that the Toronto Blue Jays are not playing meaningful baseball down the stretch.
There is no use in sugarcoating it: The Blue Jays haven’t been fun to watch this season and, with nothing to play for, that makes watching the remaining 40 or so games left on the schedule feels like a bit of a chore.
Understandably, some fans have chosen to mostly tune out the remainder of the Blue Jays season and instead go outside and enjoy the last few weeks of summer. But, if your routine still involves tuning into Blue Jays baseball, here are five storylines to follow for the rest of the 2024 season.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s chase for the AL batting title
As Guerrero continues to rack up hits, the Blue Jays first baseman has quietly climbed up the American League’s leaderboard in batting average. Following Tuesday’s 6-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels, Guerrero is batting .320, good for fourth behind Bobby Witt Jr., Aaron Judge and Steven Kwan. Witt, hitting .347, looks tough to catch, but with a few more hot weeks from Guerrero, he can stay in the conversation.
Even if Guerrero falls short of the batting title, his performance at the plate is a good enough reason to keep watching. His 22-game hitting streak ended last weekend, but he remains one of the hottest hitters in the majors and has firmly re-established himself in the elite class of MLB batters. After only hitting five home runs through the end of May, he’s now sitting at 24 after Tuesday’s third-inning homer. Will he eclipse 30 home runs in a season for the third time in his career?
The kids are playing
Since it was clear this wasn’t the Blue Jays’ year, they’ve steadily been turning to a cast of young players, including Spencer Horwitz, Leo Jiménez, Addison Barger, Joey Loperfido, Steward Berroa, Bowden Francis and now, Will Wagner, who was called up this week. Between now and the end of the season, even more young players could be called up (more on that below) and they’ll get a chance to play.
With the focus turned to next season and beyond, the Blue Jays front office is using this period to evaluate current players and determine who can potentially be a part of the roster moving forward. In that way, the next six weeks are like an audition for the 2025 roster for many.
Guys like Horwitz, who has been up and playing regularly since June, have likely already done enough to give themselves a leg up on a roster spot next season. Jiménez, who hit his first career home run on Monday, has been looking more comfortable after receiving regular playing time at shortstop. But others, including the recently acquired Loperfido, who snapped an 0-for-24 skid on Tuesday with an RBI single in the eighth, are still trying to find their footing with the club.
There may not be stakes in the standings, but for many of the young players on the roster, these games are meaningful on an individual level.
More Blue Jays debuts?
Will Wagner won’t be stopped! #TOTHECORE pic.twitter.com/prYJM9kdqg
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) August 14, 2024
Wagner supplied the blueprint for a successful Blue Jays debut on Monday when he went 3-for-4 with a double in the team’s 4-2 win over the Angels. Wagner, son of former MLB star closer Billy Wagner, was acquired from the Houston Astros in the Yusei Kikuchi trade. Since the 26-year-old infielder arrived in the Blue Jays organization, all he has done is hit, going 10-for-25 in seven games with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons before being called up this week for his first taste of the majors.
Wagner, of course, set a high bar for a first game with the club, but the Blue Jays could have a few more of them before the season finishes. Starting pitcher Jake Bloss, also acquired from Houston in the Kikuchi deal, made his first start with the Bisons last Saturday, pitching 2 2/3 scoreless innings with three hits, a walk and two strikeouts.
The Blue Jays sent Bloss to Florida to look at him in a less competitive environment and intentionally slowed his pace down after the 23-year-old climbed three minor-league levels and made his MLB debut with Houston earlier this season. But it’s still possible the Blue Jays will call him up to their big-league club before the season is through, especially if they want to see if he can be part of their rotation next season.
Another player who could debut for the Blue Jays is Jonatan Clase, the speedy outfielder acquired from the Seattle Mariners for Yimi García. Clase is hitting .263/.317/.421 in 10 games with the Bisons. The outfielder brings an element of speed currently lacking on the Blue Jays and getting a glimpse of what Clase can bring at the major-league level before the season ends would be valuable. Clase could be a candidate to be called up when rosters expand to 28 in September.
Who will return from the IL?
Bo Bichette and Jordan Romano joined the Blue Jays in Toronto last weekend so the club’s medical staff could check in on their recoveries after both had been rehabbing at the team’s facility in Florida. Bichette has been out with a right calf strain since July 20 while Romano has been on the IL since May 30 with elbow inflammation and had arthroscopic surgery on his elbow on July 3.
Recently, manager John Schneider told reporters that Bichette is on track to begin baseball activities next week, while Romano is scheduled to begin throwing in mid-August.
With a month and a half remaining, it’s worth tracking if Bichette or Romano can return from the IL. If they can, they’ll have a short window to end forgettable 2024 seasons on a more positive note. Of the two, it seems more plausible that Bichette will return before the year ends given the soft-tissue injury he’s returning from versus Romano’s surgically repaired elbow. Both Bichette and Romano will need rehab assignments but Romano will need to ramp up first with a throwing program and then progress from there, so it could take longer.
Former Jays in playoff races
OK, admittedly this is only tangentially related to Toronto’s season — but if you’re starved of meaningful baseball, you can tune into the playoff races that involve former Blue Jays traded at the deadline.
Justin Turner and García, now of the Mariners, are in a fierce battle with Kikuchi’s Astros for the AL West title. The Astros are 1 1/2 games ahead of the Mariners in the division and Kikuchi has been excellent for the Astros since the trade.
Yusei Kikuchi’s first three starts as an Astro: 16.2 IP, 10 H, 5 ER, 6 BB, 24 K. That’s a 2.70 ERA
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) August 14, 2024
In three starts, Kikuchi has allowed five earned runs on 10 hits with 24 strikeouts and six walks for a 2.70 ERA. García has given up only two earned runs in seven outings for the Mariners, while Turner is 8-for-36 in 10 games. The Mariners and Astros play one more three-game series in September, which may determine who plays in October.
Meanwhile, Danny Jansen and the Boston Red Sox are trying to stay alive in the AL wild-card race. Jansen is 7-for-19 in seven games for Boston since the trade, but the Red Sox have lost four of their last six games and are fighting to stay within striking distance of the third wild-card spot.
(Photo of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)
