The Blue Jays have spent the last seven weeks looking like a different team, and that surge has put a bright spotlight on just how expensive their earlier skid turned out to be.
Jon Morosi noted on X going into Monday night’s action on Sept. 14 that only four American League teams had played better than .600 baseball since July 27, and every one of them came from the AL East. The Rays were 28-16, the Yankees 27-17, the Blue Jays 27-17 and the Red Sox 28-18.
In a crowded American League race that has stayed tangled deep into September, that kind of run has not created much separation. Instead, it has underscored how unforgiving the first half of the season can be. Toronto has been excellent for nearly seven weeks, but it also dug a hole deep enough that even this stretch still leaves it fighting for the third and final AL Wild Card spot.
On Jul. 26, the Blue Jays were 48-58, sitting 10 games under .500 with a .453 winning percentage. If they had merely broken even to that point, they would have been 53-53 through 106 games.
Add the 27-17 run they’ve put together since then, and the record would be 80-70. That’s a much cleaner place to live than having to claw back with almost no room to breathe.
There were real reasons Toronto fell that far behind. Injuries hit hard, and the offense did not hold up its end for much of the opening stretch.
But the frustration around this season is bigger than one bad run. For this franchise, wasted chances have become a theme.
The Blue Jays have seen this movie before.
In 2021, they missed the playoffs by one game after finishing as one of baseball’s hottest teams down the stretch. They went 50-34 over their final 84 games, the fourth-best mark in MLB from Jul. 1 on, but the surge came too late to save them in the Wild Card race.
The next year brought a different kind of gut punch. Toronto made the postseason, then watched an 8-1 lead evaporate in Game 2 against the Seattle Mariners before losing 10-9 and getting swept.
In 2023, the Blue Jays again reached the playoffs and finished 89-73, but the postseason ended quickly. José Berríos was pulled after three-plus scoreless innings in Game 2 against the Minnesota Twins despite clearly dealing, Toronto fell 2-0, and another sweep followed.
The 2024 season never really got off the ground in the way people around the team hoped, especially after the Blue Jays missed on Shohei Ohtani during a winter that briefly had the fan base thinking the franchise was about to change forever.
Then came 2025, a division-winning year that carried Toronto all the way to the World Series before ending in more heartbreak. It showed the ceiling for this group, but it also made the sting of coming up short even sharper.
Now the Blue Jays are back in familiar territory in 2026, trying to turn a late surge into something that actually lasts. They won’t get there as division champions this time.
If they’re going to make the postseason, they’ll have to do it the hard way. But after nearly two months of strong baseball, they’ve at least given themselves a chance to finish the job.
In Other News...
Blue Jays Could Face A Tough Japan Free Agency Decision
The Blue Jays have a potential Japan market opportunity in front of them as three players expected to pursue MLB careers in the upcoming free agency period come into focus: Teruaki Sato, Kaima Taira and Hiromi Itoh. The group reflects the kind of talent Toronto has tracked before, and the conversation is sharpened by the recent path of Kazuma Okamoto, whose move has offered another reminder that top Japanese players can make a quick enough impression to matter immediately in North America.
Satos recent hitting gains and Tairas pitching performance are the two names drawing the most detailed attention, and both profiles suggest real major-league usefulness rather than just long-term upside. For a Blue Jays front office that has shown interest in broadening its reach, the question is not just whether these players fit, but how aggressive Toronto wants to be when the market opens and the competition for Japanese talent begins to form. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Finally Move On From A Roster Gamble That Failed
Jess Snchez is on the move again, and this time the Blue Jays have finally closed the book on a winter gamble that never really took hold. Toronto acquired Snchez from the Astros before the 2026 season, hoping his bat could offset some questions in the field, but the fit never settled in as the year went on.
The Blue Jays designated him for assignment and the Diamondbacks quickly claimed him off waivers, giving Snchez a fresh start elsewhere. For Toronto, it is another reminder that roster bets can look sensible on paper and still unravel once the games begin, especially when defensive issues start to outweigh whatever production the lineup gets in return. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Playoff Push Just Got More Unsettled Before Tigers Series
The Blue Jays roster took another hit just as the race tightened, with outfielder Rudy Martin Jr. landing on the 10-day injured list because of a left hamstring strain, retroactive to Sept. 13. Toronto answered by bringing up utility player Davis Schneider and left-hander Brendan Cellucci from Triple-A, while sending Ricky Tiedemann back down, a reminder of how quickly the margins can shift when a club is trying to keep pace in September.
Even with the shuffle, the standings picture still leaves little room for error. Toronto sits one game behind the final wild card spot heading into a series against the Tigers, so every roster move now carries a little more weight than it would in midseason. The club has been managing injuries and depth all year, but with the postseason race this tight, the Blue Jays need the next few days to go cleaner than the one before them. [Read more 🡒]