Ernie Clement says the Toronto Blue Jays have found a strange little edge in the clubhouse, and he’s not willing to spill it.
Toronto has climbed back into the American League Wild Card picture after a sluggish start to the 2026 season, and the turnaround has come with a noticeable shift in the team’s mood. The Blue Jays are 13-9 in August, sitting two games out of a playoff spot with 30 games left, a place plenty of fans probably didn’t expect them to be after the club moved several stars at the trade deadline earlier this month.
According to Clement, though, the spark may trace back to something happening behind the scenes before games.
On the latest episode of the Spittin' Chiclets podcast, host Paul Bissonnette asked Clement whether anything in the clubhouse had helped pull the team together in the second half. Clement smiled at the question, then quickly made it clear he wasn’t about to hand over the full story.
"There is, there is. It's dangerous.
We are a dangerous team because of it. It's totally flipped us around - but we will see.
I can't say it though," Clement said.
The hosts kept pressing for details, but Clement stayed firm.
"We have to keep it in-house," Clement said. "If we win the World Series, I'll tell you."
The Blue Jays have already tried at least one unusual fix this season. In July, assistant hitting coach Cody Atkinson brought a stuffed red dragon into the dugout in an effort to shake the offense out of its slump.
Clement also talked about what Toronto did at the deadline, and he liked the direction the front office took.
"We retooled at the deadline and brought in some younger guys that can help moving forward - I think we got better," Clement said.
"We are finally playing the way we did at the end of last year. It's coming at the right time."
Toronto went 15-10 in September last year, a run that helped the team capture its first AL East title in 10 years. If the Blue Jays are going to climb all the way back into the postseason this time, they’ll need something similar now.
"We just want to play meaningful baseball; we are right back in this thing and in control of our own destiny," Clement said.
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