The Blue Jays are finally getting the kind of performances that make you wonder where this version of the team has been all year.
Toronto’s recent surge continued over the weekend with a series win over the Phillies, and it wasn’t just a nice result against a heavyweight. It was a reminder of how different this club looks when a few key pieces show up at the same time.
That’s been the story in this stretch: timely hitting, better starting pitching, and a few veterans looking far more like themselves. The Blue Jays entered Monday still 3.5 games out of the final American League wild card spot, with several teams ahead of them and the odds still stacked against them. But the recent run has at least made the question unavoidable: what if this team had looked like this earlier?
Saturday’s comeback win in Philadelphia summed it up. Andrés Giménez delivered three late RBIs to help turn the game, then Nathan Lukes finished it off with a game-winning home run in the 11th inning.
Lukes has been a steady contributor for much of 2026, but Giménez’s offensive struggles have been a much bigger issue for long stretches of the season. When he chips in at the plate, Toronto’s lineup simply plays better.
Alejandro Kirk has also been much more productive lately, looking far more like the hitter he was last year than a player trying to work through a broken thumb.
The rotation has given the Blue Jays a boost, too. Shane Bieber and Max Scherzer both turned in strong outings, exactly the kind of work Toronto has been missing for much of the year.
Bieber, who was not moved at the trade deadline, has kept the Blue Jays in games in four of his last five starts, with a strange, rain-soaked mess in Washington as the lone exception. It’s fair to wonder what might have happened if this version of Bieber had been around from the start.
Scherzer has offered the same kind of what-if. He was excellent Saturday and moved up to 10th on MLB’s all-time strikeout list, passing Walter Johnson.
More importantly for Toronto, he has allowed only three runs total over his last two starts, a sharp contrast to the way his season began. After dealing with several injuries early in 2026, he finally looks healthy.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is still the biggest question hanging over all of it. He homered in his return from a multi-game absence on Saturday, but he couldn’t keep that momentum going in Sunday’s loss. Whether he can get rolling again before the season runs out is still up in the air.
Even with that uncertainty, the bigger picture is clear: the Blue Jays look a lot better right now than they did for most of the season. And that makes the first half, and the trade deadline decisions that came with it, feel even more frustrating.
In Other News...
Blue Jays May Be Eyeing An AL East Answer For Rotation Woes
The Blue Jays spent the summer trying to shore up a rotation that has already been reshaped by the trade of Kevin Gausman and the uncertainty surrounding pending free agents Shane Bieber and Max Scherzer. After acquiring Jos Soriano from the Angels ahead of the 2026 trade deadline, Toronto has made clear it is looking for answers wherever it can find them, and the offseason figures to bring more movement as the front office tries to keep the pitching staff from thinning out any further.
One name now being floated in that search is Baltimore left-hander Trevor Rogers, with Bleacher Report linking him to Toronto as a possible fit on the open market. The idea makes sense on a team-specific level: the Blue Jays need innings, stability and a rotation piece they can count on beyond the short term, even if Rogers is far from the only arm who could land on their radar before winter is over. [Read more 🡒]
Alejandro Kirk Keeps Becoming A Bigger Part Of Blue Jays Culture
Alejandro Kirk has already become one of the more recognizable faces around the Blue Jays, and now he is stepping into a different role in Toronto sports culture. The catcher has become both a brand ambassador and a shareholder for Banditos Mexican Lager, a Toronto-based beer brand that launched in 2024 and is brewed in Ontario with Mexican-style lager inspiration.
For Kirk, the partnership fits neatly with the way his profile has grown in Toronto, bridging his Mexican roots and his Canadian baseball career in a way that feels natural to the city around him. It also gives Banditos a built-in link to one of the teams most popular players, which should only deepen the connection between Kirk and a fan base that has watched him become a bigger part of the Blue Jays identity. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Bullpen Gamble Could Put Another Arm On The Bubble
The Blue Jays added another layer to their bullpen picture by bringing in veteran right-hander Paul Sewald after he was waived by the Diamondbacks. It is the kind of move that signals both urgency and caution at the same time, because Toronto is looking for help in the relief corps without pretending the fit comes with much certainty.
Sewalds season has been rough, and the Blue Jays are clearly banking more on depth than on immediate stability as they sort out the roster. To make room, Toronto will likely have to bump another reliever off the active mix, which turns a simple waiver claim into a larger bullpen decision with someone else now sitting on the bubble. [Read more 🡒]