It’s hard to pin an entire collapse on one player, but when a team’s offense falls apart, the face of the lineup usually ends up carrying the blame. That’s the spot Vladimir Guerrero Jr. found himself in after the Toronto Blue Jays’ 2026 season unraveled.
That sting is sharper because this is the same club that was one out away from knocking off the reigning world champions in last year’s Fall Classic. Instead, Guerrero’s slump at the plate lined up with Toronto’s slide, and the Jays finished as the worst offensive team in baseball.
No one is arguing the whole mess belonged to Vladdy alone. Still, when a player is on a half-billion-dollar deal, the spotlight follows him when the results go sideways. And around the league, the teams still alive have had their stars deliver from the start.
The final four teams included the Milwaukee Brewers, the Tampa Bay Rays, and the Cleveland Guardians, and the point is simple: October keeps rewarding clubs whose top hitters show up. Milwaukee has built a commanding lead over the reigning world champs in part because key Dodgers bats, including Shohei Ohtani and Will Smith, have gone a combined 4-for-23 in the playoffs.
By contrast, William Contreras has been doing damage for the Brewers, with three home runs in the six games he has played this postseason. Cleveland has gotten its own surge from Jose Ramirez, who opened the playoffs 0-for-6 in the first two games but has since put together a five-game hitting streak. Over that stretch, he’s hit .429, driven in eight runs and piled up four extra-base hits.
Toronto never got that kind of lift from Guerrero in 2026. He was supposed to be the bat that steadied everything, and instead he spent too many at-bats chasing pitches outside the zone or missing hittable ones in the heart of the plate.
The numbers tell the story in the biggest spots, too. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Guerrero posted a .623 OPS. And it wasn’t as if the struggles disappeared when the situation changed; whether there was an out on the board or not, he had trouble driving teammates in and often killed rallies.
There were even moments when Toronto had a runner on third and Guerrero came up empty, with both his on-base percentage and slugging percentage below .300 in those spots.
The season is over now, and Guerrero underwent corrective eye surgery right away. The hope is that it addresses the problems that kept showing up all year, because for Toronto, a lineup that missed on its biggest bat ended up looking exactly like the worst offense in the sport.
In Other News...
Blue Jays Fans Can Experience Rogers Centre In A Way Never Offered
Rogers Centre is getting a winter makeover in January, when the home of the Blue Jays will be turned into a temporary golf driving range. The unusual setup will give fans a chance to see the ballpark from a different angle, with golfers teeing off from the 500-level and tickets available for those who want to take part in the experience.
The event is part of Upper Deck Golf, which is bringing its concept north of the border for the first time. For Blue Jays fans, it is a rare off-season way to step inside the stadium and take swings in a setting usually reserved for baseball, with the full details of the format set for later this winter. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Fans Will Recognize How Brewers Just Got To Blake Snell
Blake Snell had barely settled in when Milwaukee made its message clear in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series. Jackson Chourio jumped on the first pitch he saw from the Dodgers left-hander and sent it out, a start that had a familiar feel for anyone in Toronto who watched Snell work in last years postseason. The Brewers kept the pressure on from there and went on to beat Los Angeles 6-2, putting the Dodgers in a deep hole in the series.
For Blue Jays fans, the striking part was not just the result but the way Milwaukee attacked Snell early and kept forcing him into uncomfortable moments. The Dodgers have now dropped three straight in the NLCS, and Snells recent playoff struggles were back in focus as the Brewers kept adding to the damage. It was the kind of October reminder Toronto followers know well: once a lineup gets a read on Snell, the first mistake can snowball fast. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Fans Have Every Right To Debate This Awards Snub
The Players Choice Awards are set to bring a little more hardware talk to the Blue Jays this month, and there is at least one familiar name in the mix. Dylan Cease has been recognized as a finalist for the MLBPAs American League Outstanding Pitcher award, putting him alongside Cam Schlittler and Sonny Gray as the leagues players prepare to vote on one of the seasons more respected honors.
There is a different kind of head-scratching closer to home, though, because Kazuma Okamoto did not make the cut for Outstanding Rookie finalists despite a season that gave Toronto plenty to celebrate. The winners will be announced during the week of Oct. 26, and the omission gives Blue Jays fans reason to keep the conversation going about how these awards are being judged. [Read more 🡒]