The Blue Jays are walking into a brutal stretch, and there’s no soft landing anywhere in sight. They open a four-game set against the Red Sox tonight, then turn around for three straight with the Yankees at home.
After that, it’s the Rays and Yankees again on the road next week. It does not get easier.
If Toronto wants to keep any real hope alive for the final Wild Card spot, this is the kind of week that has to go right. At the very least, a split feels necessary. Three wins out of four would be even better.
The pitching matchups are lined up as follows: Sonny Gray (14-2, 2.78) vs. Jameson Taillon (2-6, 5.96) today, Patrick Sandoval (1-0, 3.38) vs.
Dylan Cease (7-5, 2.28) on Tuesday, Ranger Suarez (4-3, 3.32) vs. José Soriano (9-6, 3.24) on Wednesday, and then an afternoon game Thursday at 3:00 Eastern with Payton Tolle (7-6, 3.20) against Max Scherzer (1-4, 7.25).
There’s also a health situation to keep an eye on with Trey Yesavage, who is seeing a doctor about his knee today. The source here doesn’t speculate beyond that, but the expectation is that it could mean rest or surgery.
If it is surgery, he likely won’t be back this season. It’s another rough break in a year that has already included missed time early on.
Yesavage has started 18 games, and the hope is that all the injury issues are out of the way now so he can put together a long, healthy career.
One stat from this season stands out in a strange way: Andres has a .238/.281/.363 batting line. The point here is that it’s hard to think of hitting as something you can simply switch on and off.
If you can hit, why not do it all the time? Still, the numbers are the numbers, and the idea is clear: keep it up, Andres, and if you’d also like to hit better with the bases empty, that would be welcome too.
There’s movement in the minors as well. Johnny King has been bumped up to the Fisher Cats, putting the 20-year-old a step closer to the majors. In Vancouver, he posted a 3.21 ERA with 50 walks, 112 strikeouts, and 84 innings.
The Blue Jays also shared a photo of Max Scherzer and Steve Carlton together, a tidy little reminder of the strikeout company Scherzer keeps. Scherzer is 10th all-time in strikeouts, Carlton is 4th, and the two of them have 7,652 strikeouts combined.
Even if not every result has gone Toronto’s way, the games have been more fun to watch over the last week or so. The new faces help with that.
Bateman has a chance to show he belongs in the center-field mix for next year. Smith looks like he could become a useful bat in the outfield.
And Soriano and Taillon are two arms worth watching as they get more time with Pete Walker.
In Other News...
Blue Jays Just Got An Unexpected Cody Ponce Rehab Look
Cody Ponces road back from ACL surgery has already taken an unusual turn, and it says a lot about where the Blue Jays right-hander is in his recovery. After suffering the injury in his first start of the 2026 season, Ponce has been working through rehab with a longer view in mind, one that still leaves Toronto expecting him to matter in a big way once he gets back on the mound.
The latest wrinkle is the kind of cross-sport detour that can catch a fans attention, with Ponce spending part of his rehab around NFL tight ends rather than a mound. For a pitcher who is still aiming to be a factor in the Blue Jays rotation, the timing matters most, and the club is looking ahead to a full return by spring training in 2027. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Roster Shuffle Puts One Struggling Player On Notice
The Blue Jays kept turning over the bottom of their roster, sending Davis Schneider and Lazaro Estrada to Triple-A Buffalo while bringing up Charles McAdoo and Simeon Woods Richardson. It is the kind of move Toronto has made before this season, trying to get a better rhythm from a group that has not settled in cleanly, especially as Schneider continues to search for consistency after a rough run.
McAdoo and Woods Richardson are back for their second stints with the club this year, giving Toronto two familiar options as it reshuffles again. For Schneider, the latest trip to Buffalo only adds to the pressure surrounding his place on the roster, while Estradas mixed results left the Blue Jays willing to look elsewhere for a different look. [Read more 🡒]
Charles McAdoo Just Forced His Way Back Into Torontos Plans
Charles McAdoo has spent the last week making the kind of noise that gets a front offices attention. The 24-year-old rookie crushed four home runs in four days for the Buffalo Bisons, good enough to earn International League Player of the Week honors, and now hes back in the Blue Jays orbit after a brief earlier look in the majors this season.
For Toronto, the recall gives McAdoo another chance to turn a hot stretch into something more lasting. He is expected to get more playing time during this second stint, which makes this a meaningful moment for a player who has already shown he can force the issue from Triple-A and now has a path to prove it at the big-league level. [Read more 🡒]