The Toronto Blue Jays are preparing to have a host of regular starters back in the lineup this month, including starting pitchers Dylan Cease and Max Scherzer, who are scheduled to start Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
Add in the impending returns of catcher Alejandro Kirk, starter Shane Bieber, outfielder Addison Barger and reliever Yimi Garcia at various points in June, and Toronto is approaching a fully healthy squad for the first time since early April.
But it isn’t fair to pin the Blue Jays’ 32-35 start solely on injuries, as some prominent stars have struggled mightily through the first third of the season.
ESPN’s Buster Olney joined First Up on TSN1050 on Tuesday morning to discuss the struggles of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer, how the team may handle the trade deadline and whether playoff aspirations are realistic this season.
The Blue Jays enter play on Tuesday ranked tied for 21st in home runs on the season and 23rd in runs scored. Guerrero and Springer have been at the forefront of the team’s struggles at the plate.
Guerrero spoke confidently about his season on Sunday, when he said that “things are going to go my way,” and Olney believes him, despite his three home runs (ninth on the team) and .368 slugging percentage that would be the worst of his career.
“When I saw his comments from Sunday talking about his confidence about what’s to come - there are some players you’d hear that and it would feel like [it’s] just bravado where they’re trying to talk themselves into something,” Olney said. “I actually think given the level he’s been at as a hitter, what he’s saying makes complete sense.”
It’s been a stunning follow-up for Guerrero after a historic performance in last year’s playoffs that helped push the Blue Jays to Game 7 of the World Series. The eighth-year player smacked eight home runs in 18 games and finished with a 1.289 OPS, along with ALCS MVP honours.
“I think it’s kind of like at the beginning of the postseason last year where he basically was saying to other hitters on the team ‘I’m not going to worry about hitting mechanics, I’m just going to focus on going through my at-bats,’” said Olney. “And he went into the postseason with a lot of confidence. So I would not be surprised at all if he’s got a bit of a run in him coming up.”
Olney also addressed the possibility of the Blue Jays making some lineup changes as Springer continues to struggle from the leadoff spot. The veteran dealt with a toe injury in April and into May, and has looked nothing like the player that finished seventh in MVP voting in 2025.
“I don’t think [a change to the batting order] is coming any time soon, because when you look at the standings they start today a game out of the wild-card spot,” Olney said. “That buys you time to see if he can [figure it out], but the reality is that Father Time is undefeated.”
Springer hit .309 with a team-leading 32 home runs a season ago, but has struggled to a .202 batting average and a .283 on-base percentage that ranks 30th out of 35 hitters to log at least 100 plate appearances from the leadoff spot.
“That’s the big question right now - is what we’re seeing with George, is this a larger issue, that he’s gotten older and he’s not going to be able to come back? The Jays at some point will have to sort through that,” Olney said. “I think we’re not quite at the desperate times that require desperate measures because of where they are in the standings, so I think they’ll try to ride it out because we saw how good he was last year.”
Olney highlighted utilityman Ernie Clement, who could benefit from a higher spot in the lineup as he enters play Tuesday with a .309 batting average and leads the American League in hits (79) and doubles (19).
The other factor in the batting order is where Kirk will land when the catcher returns from an extended stay on the injured list with a fractured thumb. Kirk has been out since April 4 and has played in just five games this season, but worked primarily as the No. 5 hitter last year.
“I think [Clement is] one of the guys who grew from his postseason experience last year, [and from] being picked to play in the World Baseball Classic,” Olney said. “I think at some point - maybe when Alejandro Kirk gets back and they make choices for where different guys are going to be that [moving Ernie Clement up in the batting order] is the adjustment that you have.
“The one thing I’d say is if you have a guy who can consistently put the ball in play the way that Ernie does, there are ways to use that player,” Olney said. “Maybe to protect Vladdy, because it’s pretty clear that one of the issues that [Guerrero] has is he’s just jumping at the ball, he’s trying to do too much ... maybe having Clement behind Vladdy [could] help him to get more pitches to hit.”
There is one other factor for the Blue Jays to consider, and that is potentially altering the roster at the trade deadline at the end of July.
Before any of those decisions can be made, Olney says that the team needs to figure out how good it can be with a healthy roster.
“We’ll see where Bieber is, and where Scherzer is, but if the Blue Jays wind up prioritizing a starting pitcher before the trade deadline, that’s the one area where you’re going to be able to find some help,” said Olney.
A host of elite starting pitchers could become available if their teams continue to struggle: Freddy Peralta of the New York Mets, Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers, Joe Ryan of the Minnesota Twins and Sandy Alcantara of the Miami Marlins were some of the names Olney listed.
“We just don’t know exactly what their needs are going to be yet because we need to know, as the reinforcements arrive, what kind of shape are they going to be in?” Olney said.
