Buck Martinez may no longer be in the Blue Jays’ broadcast booth, but Toronto made sure he was still part of the conversation at the All-Star Game.
During Tuesday’s Stand Up to Cancer segment in Philadelphia, Blue Jays infielder Ernie Clement and first-base coach Mark Budzinski both wrote Martinez’s name on their placards. Martinez, now 77, spent nearly 45 years with the organization as a player, manager and, most famously, a colour commentator whose voice became a fixture not just in Toronto, but across Canada.
He stepped away from broadcasting after the 2025 season, about four years after leaving the job to undergo cancer treatment.
The tribute came with Clement in the spotlight for another reason too. His road to this stage has been a long one, with the 30-year-old twice designated for assignment before finding a home with the Blue Jays. Since then, he has become a real difference-maker, and he showed it again Tuesday night with a sharp defensive play in the bottom of the fifth, robbing Andy Pages of what would have been a base hit.
The American League went on to beat the National League 4-0. Clement went 0-for-2 at the plate, while Blue Jays teammate Dylan Cease struck out three batters in the one inning he pitched.
Toronto now turns back to the regular season, with Clement, Cease and the rest of the club set to open a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox on Friday. The Jays are 45-51, but they remain within striking distance of a wild-card spot, sitting 2.5 games back.
In Other News...
Blue Jays May Have Just Caught A Huge Deadline Break
Milwaukees decision to land Lance McCullers Jr. and Colton Gordon from Houston for prospect Jadyn Fielder added another wrinkle to an already fluid deadline market, and its the kind of move that can ripple well beyond the two teams involved. McCullers has battled inconsistency and injuries this season, but his postseason track record still carries weight, which is exactly why a deal like this can reset how front offices think about pitching depth and what they are willing to pay for it.
For Toronto, the bigger question is whether a sellers market is starting to tilt in its favor if the club decides to move pieces before the deadline. A trade built around a pitcher with McCullers name value, despite the uneven year, can only help the Blue Jays case if they choose to listen on veterans, because it suggests clubs are still willing to chase proven upside even when the current numbers are messy. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Finally Get A Crucial Injury Picture Before Second Half
The Blue Jays head into the second half still buried in the American League East, but the injury picture around the club is starting to come into focus in a way that could matter just as much for the stretch run. Toronto has spent much of the first half juggling absences from Yimi Garca, Max Scherzer, Joe Mantiply, Addison Barger, Jess Snchez, Lenyn Sosa and Anthony Santander, while the organization has also already had to absorb season-ending surgeries for Cody Ponce, Bowden Francis and Jos Berros.
For a team still hanging around the wild-card race, the difference between surviving and fading may come down to which of those names can actually rejoin the mix in time to help. Garca is moving back toward a bullpen role, Barger and Snchez are working through their own paths back, and Santanders shoulder situation remains one of the more important questions on the roster as Toronto tries to piece together enough healthy innings and at-bats to stay relevant into August. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Just Got Surprising Draft Praise Despite Their Disadvantage
For a team working with limited draft capital in 2026, the Blue Jays still managed to come out of the MLB draft with some real intrigue. Keith Law singled out Toronto for landing two top-50 prospects in Cole Carlon and Will Brick, a notable haul for a club that did not have the kind of draft flexibility many rivals enjoyed. The added context matters here: Toronto was able to turn a constrained board into a class that drew praise from one of the sports more respected evaluators.
Carlon, the Arizona State left-hander, was viewed as a potential mid-rotation starter thanks to two bat-missing pitches and some room to keep growing through his changeup. Brick, a high school catcher, gives the Blue Jays another high-upside name to track as the organization continues to build depth behind the plate and on the mound. Toronto also added several undrafted free agent pitchers after the draft, which suggests the front office kept working to squeeze value out of the process even after the headline picks were in. [Read more 🡒]