Brett Bateman hasn’t just fit in with the Blue Jays since his debut. He’s changed the look of the team, and the numbers say the impact has been real.
Through Sunday, Bateman had piled up 1.2 fWAR in just 24 games. Stretch that out over a full 162-game season and you’re looking at an 8-fWAR pace, the kind of production that can put a player in MVP territory. That’s a tiny sample, sure, but it still tells the same story the eye test does: Toronto has been getting a lot better work from centre field.
The Blue Jays have indeed surged late, and while no one player gets all the credit for that turnaround, Bateman has been part of the push. He’s already one of the most valuable players on the roster in 2026, even if the total number looks modest at first glance.
That’s because fWAR is a counting stat, and Bateman has played far fewer games than the names ahead of him. Dylan Cease leads the club at 5.4 fWAR, followed by Louis Varland at 2.8. Cease is a front-runner for the American League Cy Young Award, and Varland has been arguably the best reliever in baseball since Opening Day.
Among position players, Andrés Giménez is first at 2.5 fWAR, driven mostly by his defence. Kazuma Okamoto sits right behind him at 2.4, and Alejandro Kirk is next at 2.2. Brandon Valenzuela follows at 1.9, Nathan Lukes at 1.7, Ernie Clement at 1.3, and then Bateman.
But the raw totals don’t tell the whole story. Kirk has missed months and still logged more than twice Bateman’s plate appearances. Bateman’s value is better measured on a per-game basis, where he has outpaced every Blue Jay this season.
The comparison with Daulton Varsho makes that even clearer. Varsho, the player Bateman replaced, entered Sunday with 1 fWAR over 128 games.
Bateman has already surpassed that mark despite playing more than 100 fewer games. For a front office, that’s the kind of upgrade you dream about.
And he’s done it without a home run. That stood out as a concern when Toronto acquired him for Kevin Gausman, but Bateman has made his money everywhere else: a perfect bunt here, a stolen base there, a sharp read in the outfield to run down a tough ball. It’s the sort of all-around, low-drama production that keeps winning innings alive.
He even had a three-hit day on Saturday.
No one should expect Bateman to keep hitting close to .400 or turn into a highlight reel on every defensive chance. He’s not about to win an MVP award next season. But the Blue Jays are plainly better with him in centre field, and that alone makes him one of their most valuable players right now.
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Blue Jays Already Look Smarter For Moving On From This Prospect
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For Toronto, the move now looks even more sensible in hindsight. The return for Jimnez brought back infielder Dub Gleed and international bonus money, and with Jimnez no longer in the Marlins plans, the Blue Jays at least appear to have turned a once-promising prospect into something more useful for their organization. [Read more 🡒]
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Red Sox Pitching Depth Could Get A Huge Late Boost
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Around the division, there are still a lot of moving pieces worth monitoring, from Toronto arms Trey Yesavage and Shane Bieber to Red Sox pitchers Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck and Johan Oviedo. The Red Sox also have other names in the injury mix, along with Mets reliever Nate Lavender and Nationals catcher Drew Millas, who may need another surgery on his left index finger. For Toronto, the immediate takeaway is less about one rivals bad luck than the bigger reality of September baseball, where every recovery timeline can shift the shape of a pennant race. [Read more 🡒]