Jon Rauch turns 48 today, and even though his time as the Blue Jays’ closer in 2011 was bumpy, he still left behind one of the most unforgettable images from that season. Rauch worked 53 games that year, saved 11, blew five, and finished with a 4.85 ERA while giving up 11 home runs in 52 innings. He also walked 14 and struck out 36, and injuries didn’t help matters, with an appendectomy and torn cartilage in his right knee costing him time.
What never changed was the presence. At 6’11” and 290 pounds, Rauch was a towering figure, and he was easily the most intimidating reliever the Jays have ever had. His most memorable moment in Toronto came when he got into it with an umpire, and John Farrell, not a small man himself, looked small trying to pull Jon away from the umpire.
That moment ended up defining the way many people remember his Blue Jays stint, even if it was out of character for him. Rauch’s MLB career stretched 11 years and covered seven teams.
He appeared in 556 games, only 11 of them starts, and put up a 3.90 ERA with 62 saves. His best run came with the Nationals, where he logged a 3.24 ERA across 245 games over five seasons.
Len Matuszek is 72 today, though plenty of Blue Jays fans probably need a little help placing him. Toronto picked him up at the start of the 1985 season, and he played 62 games for the club, hitting .212/.259/.318 with two home runs while splitting time between designated hitter and first base. In early July, he was dealt to the Dodgers for Al Oliver.
Oliver, then 38 and in the final stretch of an 18-year career, filled the same role on the left side of a DH platoon. He hit .251/.282/.374 with five home runs.
That season ended with Toronto reaching the playoffs for the first time, before falling to the Royals in seven games in the ALCS. Oliver had a strong series, batting .375/.444/.500.
Matuszek spent seven seasons in the majors with the Phillies, Blue Jays, and Dodgers, finishing with a .234/.309/.405 line in 379 games. For a first baseman, that wasn’t the kind of production teams were hoping to get.
Jason Phillips turns 50 today. He was the Blue Jays’ backup catcher from 2006 to 2007, appearing in 80 games and hitting .219/.271/.302 behind Gregg Zaun.
Over a seven-year big league career, Phillips hit .249/.314/.370 with 30 home runs in 465 games for the Mets, Dodgers, and Jays, with Toronto closing out his playing days in his final two seasons. He was remembered as a good person and a solid defensive catcher who could also handle first base.
Later, he returned to the organization as a bullpen catcher in 2016 and also coached in the Yankees’ minor league system.
Matt Shoemaker celebrates his 40th birthday today, and his Blue Jays run still stands out for how sharply it was cut short. He made five excellent starts and posted a 1.57 ERA before tearing his ACL and ending his season. In 2020, he appeared in six games, put up a 4.71 ERA, and missed a month of the shortened season with a shoulder injury.
Shoemaker signed with the Twins last winter, but the stint went sideways. He made 16 appearances and carried an 8.06 ERA before being released on August 6th. Not long after, he signed a minor league deal with the Giants.
In Other News...
Blue Jays Report Card Puts One 2026 Failure Front And Center
The Blue Jays 2026 season review was not gentle, and the harshest mark landed on the one area that never quite found its footing all year: the offense. Hitting coach David Popkins was handed an F in the report card, a reflection of how uneven Torontos attack looked over the course of the season, even as the clubs broader leadership drew more favorable evaluations.
There was more balance in the rest of the grades. Manager John Schneider earned a B for steering a difficult roster through the year, while president and CEO Mark Shapiro received an A for the organizations larger improvements. The front office also came out well in the review, with offseason additions and trade deadline moves singled out as positives, but the offensive mess remains the most glaring issue hanging over the team heading into what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Could Be Saying Goodbye To Several Familiar Names
The Blue Jays are heading into a stretch where the roster may start to look very different from the one fans have come to know. Several veteran arms who were brought in to help bridge the gap toward contention have run into the same familiar issues teams worry about this time of year: age, health, and uneven performance. For a club trying to stay competitive while also keeping one eye on the future, that usually means some uncomfortable decisions are coming.
By the time the 2027 season arrives, Toronto could be leaning on a much younger and healthier mix on the pitching side. Max Scherzer, Paul Sewald, Shane Bieber, Jameson Taillon and Yimi Garcia are among the familiar names whose time with the Blue Jays is expected to wind down, leaving the front office with the task of retooling without losing momentum. It is the kind of roster turnover that can reshape a bullpen and rotation quickly, and for Blue Jays fans it may mean seeing several recent additions become part of the past sooner than expected. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Pitching Grades Show Who Carried Toronto Through The Chaos
The Blue Jays 2026 pitching story was one of survival as much as performance, with the staff forced to absorb injuries, shifting roles and heavy workloads all season long. The review of the groups grades makes clear how much Toronto leaned on a mix of established arms and newcomers to keep the rotation and bullpen moving, even as the season kept asking for more from the pitching staff than it could comfortably give.
Some pitchers held up remarkably well under that pressure, giving the club stability when it needed it most, while others were left fighting inconsistency or the effects of all the wear and tear. The full assessment sorts through the bright spots and the setbacks across the staff, and it also leaves you with the obvious follow-up: which arms truly did enough to matter most when the Blue Jays were at their most chaotic? [Read more 🡒]